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A Tale of Jaguars	By : Aline Category: +S through Z > Thundercats Views: 13095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I'm not making any money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
WARNINGS: This contains Slash, and abuse, as well as mpreg. It is dark and treats themes only for mature audience, such as sex with a minor. Do not read if you don’t like it.
*Disclaimer: I don’t own Thundercats, or any character or event associated to it, and I’m not making any money from this fiction.
Author note: Another chapter!! Thanks for the reviews.
CHAPTER 15. Crisis.

Jareid was reviewing some assignments for the city guard, trying to distract himself from worrying. In just two more days Tygra was going to start taking the hormones again, and this time around it seemed that it was Jareid the one that was climbing over the walls in anxiety. In a way that was good. Tygra was more relaxed and collected, and Jareid had been told that his mate’s calmer state would make the procedure easier. So, Jareid didn’t mind being the one nervous enough to not eat, so long as Tygra was in good disposition to try the implantation again.
Another good thing, on Jareid’s point of view, was that Tygra was acting more affectionate towards him. The tiger attached himself to Jareid’s arms, or waist, every time they were together, thus allowing Jareid to show his possessiveness more, even in public. Their extended family had been surprised at the change in behaviour, but Jareid didn’t mind and hadn’t given it much thought. He was happy that Tygra was finally at ease with him touching and being playful wherever they were. The tiger had even started sexual activities on the bed once or twice! That was proof enough for Jareid that Tygra no longer felt forced into their mating. They were becoming a real family.
Jareid smiled. Soon they’d had their cub and no one would get the chance to take Tygra away. The tiger was the best thing that had happened in Jareid’s life, and he’d kill whoever tried to separate them.
The prince returned to the papers in front of him without paying much attention to them. His mind continued wandering back to Tygra and hypothetic cubs. He was aware that many cats in the court didn’t believe he’d be a good parent and were expecting Tygra to do all the job, but he’d show them. Who said they could talk anyway? Jareid could mention a few whose parental skills were less than impressive. All he needed was to have his tiger by his side and everything would work out just fine.
The jaguar prince was very distracted between work and his own thoughts. The last thing he expected was an angry Saixa storming into his office with murder in her eyes and yelling at him. He was shocked for a few seconds before he began to understand what the female was screaming at the top of her lungs.
“How dare you! You promised me Jareid! The one good thing about you was that you kept your promises! How could you not even tell me?! We had a deal!”
Jareid stood up because Saixa was getting dangerously close to him and he didn’t like to be in disadvantage. He had always laughed at the male courtesans that felt intimidated by Saixa, but now he could see their point.
“What’s gotten into you? What deal are you talking about?”
The woman all but growled at him.
“You very well know what deal! You promised me that I could be your carrier!”
Jareid snarled and stood face to face to the jaguaress.
“I told you that I would consider it. If Tygra wants to, and only if this fourth try proves to be a failure! I’d ask him who he wants to carry our cub, but not yet Saixa! You’d have to wait!”
The woman stopped and her face changed to slight confusion.
“The fourth… Why is he even doing the fourth try? I thought you didn’t want him hurt anymore…”
“Look Saixa, I don’t want him hurt, he agreed to try it one last time. I don’t want anyone else involved in my family’s dealings! I told you that clear enough! Until Bengali says that Tygra can’t carry our cub I’m not considering any other option! I’d take your offer into account, just not until there’s no other choice! I have already told you this! I thought you were smarter!”
He expected her to bristle and start a new rant over she been intelligent enough. What he got instead was a stunned female, whose facial gestures were changing from confusion to comprehension, and then to fear.
“Saixa? Are you understanding me?”
He wished she’d answer. Any kind of reaction on her part would be welcome because the look she was giving him was, frankly, creepy.
“You are serious, aren’t you?” She asked. Jareid frowned.
“Of course I am! What the hell is your problem?!”
Saixa’s face now resembled a mask of confused terror. Jareid was getting impatient.
“You… You didn’t lay with Mai recently. Did you?”
“Mai? The commander’s daughter? I haven’t even seen her around for months!”
“Oooh, gods…”
Saixa paled as full comprehension settled into her. Jareid had had enough. He grabbed the girl’s wrist and snarled in her face.
“Saixa, tell me what’s going on, now!”
“Mai is talking to the king right now. She arrived some hours earlier, and has been telling the entire court that she’s pregnant, and that the cub is yours, I thought…”
“What?!”
Jareid roared and almost broke Saixa’s wrist. The female put her head down and yelled in panic.
“Don’t kill the messenger, Jareid! I have nothing to do with whatever Mai is doing! I swear!”
The prince roared louder and let go of the woman. He stalked out of the office in evident rage, leaving a trembling Saixa to sort herself out. She nursed her bruised wrist and breathed deeply.
“My goddess… I should have kept my mouth shut! I have to tell someone…”
She fumbled with her communicator until she could press the correct sequence of numbers.
“Sarai? Is Shaman Bengali there? … Could you please find him? It’s an emergency! … Tell him that prince Jareid is looking for Mai, and he’s beyond angry! … Please, it’s important that someone stops him!”
&&&&&&&&
Bengali was in the lab, considering what to do. Xiar had instructed him to get everything ready to produce another embryo. In two days, they were supposed to check up Tygra, and if the analysis were in order, they’d start the hormone treatment again. Now, Bengali was almost sure that it’d not be necessary to try another implantation, but he wasn’t 100% sure. He was asking himself if he should get everything ready just in case, but it seemed pointless. Maybe he should tell the High Shaman what he had found and show him Tygra’s hormonal profile. They may reach a conclusion and stop loosing time.
He sighed and opened the storage freezer for the semen samples. He could at least be sure that they were still viable. He opened the cases and counted. Then he frowned. He could have sworn that there still were three samples left for each parent. He didn’t have much time to think about it. Sarai entered the lab at that moment with a worried frown in her face.
“Shaman Bengali, I just got a call from Lady Saixa. She said something about prince Jareid being very angry and looking for Lady Mai. She sounded very alarmed. She said that it was urgent that someone stops the prince.”
Bengali scowled and closed the freezer to turn towards the lab’s entrance.
“She said that Jareid was angry? Did she tell you why?”
“Well, no. But I suppose it’s because Lady Mai is telling everyone that she’s carrying the prince’s cub.”
Bengali stopped short and looked incredulously at the younger shaman.
“She’s saying what?”
“She says that she’s pregnant, and she’s assuring that the cub is the prince’s.”
Bengali paled. It was definitely an emergency!
“Where’s Mai? Do you know?”
“Last thing I heard was that she was trying to talk to the king.”
“Oh, my.”
Bengali walked out of the lab, intent on finding the girl before Jareid, but he didn’t go too far. As soon as he exited the lab and entered the clinic’s area designed to take samples and run tests, the High Shaman entered by the door that opened to the waiting hall. Lady Mai, the king and the chief commander followed him. None of the males looked happy, but the commander seemed particularly upset.
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that you’d pull something like this! I told you to never set foot in the palace again!”
“You can’t keep me away from my love father! Much less now that I’m having his cub!”
“If you’re even pregnant!”
“I wouldn’t lie in something like this!”
“Enough!” Baal roared. His eyes fell on Bengali immediately.
“Has my son taken any of the suppressor?”
“No my king. Not since he mated with Tygra.”
One thing that Baal had demanded of Jareid was that he had to make sure that no cubs resulted from his sexual scandals. To that end, Bengali prepared him a beverage that diminished his sperm production to almost zero. It had allowed the prince to happily go around from cat to cat without fathering any offspring. It had also allowed Baal to deny any compromise with the families. The concoction didn’t have any secondary effects, and it had been the ideal solution to prevent situations like the one they were currently in.
Baal gritted his teeth. How could Jareid be so stupid? He knew what would happen if he fathered a cub out of the mating! It didn’t make sense! Jareid had been obsessed with Tygra since the moment the teen had boarded the ship to Ix-Maal. Why would he go looking for entertainment now?
Bengali looked at Mai with doubt.
“If she’s indeed pregnant, we can determine the paternity easily enough.”
“It is Jareid’s! You have just admitted that he hadn’t been taking any suppressor.”
“He hadn’t. But that’s because it’s no longer needed. He’s trying to have a cub with his mate after all.”
“Well, he was tired of waiting. He needs someone who can actually give him what he wants, and he came to me! You can do all the tests you want. Jareid is my cub’s father.”
“We need to determine first how long is she.” Said Xiar, who thought the whole affair was very suspicious.
“I’m thirty-eight days. Six weeks already.” She said happily. Xiar and Bengali scowled.
“And you of course are one hundred percent sure of this fact.” Said Bengali sarcastically.
“Of course! I went to one of the city’s Shamans immediately.” She bragged.
Bengali glanced behind towards Sarai who nodded and disappeared discretely through a door. Baal was still trying to put the pieces together. The commander suddenly asked to the room.
“Who else knows about this?”
Bengali sighed, thinking about what Sarai had told him.
“Almost the entire court, I bet.”
Baal paused and his ears stood up in alarm.
“Where’s Jareid?” He asked.
The commander was calling the royal guard when a commotion was heard outside the clinic. A moment later the door slid open and Jareid entered.
There wasn’t time for anyone to react. As soon as Jareid laid eyes on Mai, he launched himself towards her with a roar. He had her by the neck and against the wall before the king and the commander reacted and barely stopped him before he crunched the girl’s throat. As it was they weren’t able to pry him off Mai. Xiar and Bengali threw sleeping spells at him, but all they achieved was that Jareid’s hold lost some of its strength. He was too enraged for the magic to work on him fast enough. Someone injected a sedative to him and Baal and Myron finally could pull him away from the girl, who fell to the floor unconscious.
Two shamans went to attend Mai and Xiar ordered the rest to go back to their duties, as the commotion had attracted almost everyone in the wing. Baal called the two guards that appeared at the entrance, and ordered to take Jareid to his rooms.
“Lock the door for now. No one is allowed to enter! Not even Tygra! Xiar! Make sure to find the Shaman she consulted! I want her isolated until we can confirm the cub’s paternity! Myron! I want to know Jareid’s every move for the last two months!”
Everyone moved to obey the orders. Bengali made sure that Jareid was knocked out before they took him away, then he called Kab to tell him to keep an eye on Tygra, and to prevent the young tiger to return to the castle until Bengali went to look for him. After that he directed himself to Mai’s newly assigned room. They still had to confirm the pregnancy, and clear up why she was so sure that Jareid was the father.
Bengali didn’t believe for one moment that the prince had gone to her. Jareid had been focused on Tygra’s well being for the last months. He had shown no interest in anyone else for more than a year! Something was definitely off.
One of the youngest Shamans was at the door of the room they had taken Mai in. Bengali frowned, recognizing one of Mai’s cousins.
“Thao, go back to your duties. I’m sure Lady Mai would be fine.”
“Mmm… yeah, I just… Prince Jareid was very angry, and I thought…”
“Don’t worry, he’s not going to get close to her any time soon. She should be safe. Though it’d have been better if she hadn’t started to spread lies.”
Thao wriggled his hands nervously.
“B-but… she’s not lying… she… she said that…”
Bengali looked more attentively at the anxious young cat. He was only four years older than Tygra, and was always quiet and very calm, even in the midst of a crisis. He was also very intelligent and discreet. That was one of the reasons he was part of the team tending to Tygra’s case. He had no reason to be this worried.
“What’s the matter Thao?”
“S-she… Shaman Bengali, I only wanted to help, I swear!”
Bengali was now alarmed. He put a hand on the young jaguar’s shoulder and looked at him directly.
“Thao, what did you do?”
&&&&&&&&
Tygra was getting annoyed. The palace was in an uproar and no one wanted to tell him why. He had escaped Kab’s vigilance when the lieutenant had answered a call from one of their superiors. He was not going to wait for Bengali to pick him up; he was not a cub!
Every servant and some of the courtesans he had encountered had looked nervously at him. He had been trying to find someone who’d explain to him what was the problem, but the servants wouldn’t tell him anything. He couldn’t find his brother or Saixa anywhere. He didn’t want to go find Bengali and explain why he hadn’t waited for the tiger in Kab’s company in the first place, and Jareid wasn’t in his office, or anywhere he could tell! Finally, he had decided that he’d wait for his mate in their room, but now he found himself in front of two guards that wouldn’t allow him entrance. What the hell?
Huffing in annoyance, he turned around the corner to enter his own room, which was not blocked. Well, at least that meant that he wasn’t banned from the royal apartments. He looked around the room quickly, assessing that everything was as he had left it, though Snarf was not present.
Tygra shrugged and debated whether or not he should try to enter the master bedroom, via his hidden door. The guards had implied that Jareid was very dangerous at the moment, but hadn’t given him any reason for the supposed dangerousness. Tygra thought that they were exaggerating, but why would they lock Jareid in their rooms?
He huffed and decided that whatever had made Jareid angry had had enough time to pass. His mate should be calmer. Besides, he really wanted to know what was happening. He opened the door to Jareid’s study and entered. He gave two steps and then stopped and looked around him.
The place looked as if a tornado had been caught inside. Everything was thrown off and broken around, even the desk. The shelves had been demolished, and he could see parts of the computer littering what was left of the desk. He could see that the bedroom was in a similar condition and he didn’t want to check the sitting room. He couldn’t see Jareid.
Tygra gulped and advanced towards the bedroom. Maybe he should have waited for Bengali after all. He stood at the arch and looked around.
Like the study, everything was in complete chaos. His puff was the only thing that looked untouched. The window was also in one piece, but Tygra could see that it was due to the glass being unbreakable and not for lack of trying on Jareid’s part. He gulped, assessing the damage, and gave a couple of steps forward.
“Jareid?”
He heard a roar, and before he realized what was happening he was pulled and taken to the floor. He blinked and found himself technically under the bed, with Jareid’s bulk over him and turquoise eyes looking intently at his face. After some seconds, Jareid’s low growl stopped and he started to first sniff Tygra and then to lick his face and neck. Tygra tried to put his racing hearth under control. This had been definitely a bad idea.
“Jareid? Please say something?” He said, afraid that his mate had been enraged enough to be feral. Jareid nipped his neck and then moaned in his ear.
“Ty… My tiger… mine… you’re here…”
Tygra released his breath in relief when Jareid started to speak somewhat coherently.
“Jareid, what happened?”
The growl returned and Jareid hugged Tygra tightly. The tiger gasped and almost missed Jareid’s verbal response.
“They’re not taking you away! I won’t let them!”
“Uggh… J-Jareid… I need to breath…”
Jareid loosened his embrace a little, but he didn’t release Tygra. The tiger didn’t know what he should do. Jareid was very upset and Tygra wasn’t sure if his mate was in any condition to explain what was going on. He debated with himself for a couple of minutes before a noise was heard and Bengali’s voice irrupted in his ears.
“Jareid?”
The jaguar’s growl intensified and he moved to confront the newcomer. Tygra straightened, but before he could do anything, Jareid held his arm and kept him from moving away.
“You’re not to believe anything they tell you!”
“What?”
Tygra was confused as hell. He needed someone to explain what was happening soon. Bengali appeared at the arch, looking around in concern. Jareid turned to him and growled menacingly. Ben stopped and his eyes widened when he spotted the orange tiger.
“Tygra?”
“Hi Ben.” Said the teen sheepishly. Jareid put himself between the two tigers. His entire posture tense and ready to attack at the minor provocation.
“Dammit Jareid, it’s me! I really need you to calm down, please! And now it seems I need to check if Tygra is ok too!”
“I’m fine Ben, but I’m not sure that Jareid is.”
Ben sighed and was about to risk a few steps closer to his prince, when Jareid suddenly roared and leaped forwards. Tygra tried to grab him, but he froze when he heard a shot. Belatedly, he realized that the two guards that had been stationed at the door of the rooms were now behind Bengali. One of them had a gun in his arm.
Tygra ran to Jareid’s side alarmed. He helped the jaguar prince to walk backwards and sit down on the bedside. He pulled the dart out of the jaguar’s shoulder and glared at it. It was a sedative, but Jareid hadn’t fell to the floor. He continued growling, evidently fighting the effects of the tranquilizer. Bengali was admonishing the guards.
“I told you to stay outside!”
“He was attacking you, Shaman Bengali.”
“He was more likely attacking you, officer. You should have remained in your post!” He turned to look at Tygra. “And you aren’t supposed to be here!”
Tygra shrugged apologetically.
“They didn’t lock my room.”
“We didn’t know he could enter that way. We did mention though that prince Jareid was better left alone for a while.”
Bengali sighed and massaged his right temple.
“Well, maybe it’d be best if we leave him to sleep his anger off. Come Tygra.”
The young tiger moved, but Jareid’s hand held him by the wrist and wouldn’t let go. Tygra stopped and looked back at his mate, who was barely conscious, but still fighting tenaciously to keep his eyes open and pulling insistently at Tygra’s wrist. The tiger could shake free of Jareid’s grasp easily, but he saw the desperation in his mate’s eyes. He couldn’t leave him like that. Besides, Jareid would never forgive Bengali if he took Tygra away now. The youth sighed and turned to the Shaman.
“I think I’d stay, Ben. He’s going to be more upset if I leave.”
Bengali frowned.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’d be fine. He’s practically asleep now. I’m keeping him company.”
Bengali looked at Jareid and seemed to reach the same conclusion Tygra had.
“Ok then.”
“Sir…” Started one of the guards, evidently uncomfortable with the decision.
“It’d be all right officer. If Jareid had wanted to hurt Tygra, he’d have had plenty of time to do so. Now, go back to your posts.”
“Yes sir.”
Both guards disappeared and Tygra sighed in relief.
“Ben, what’s going on?”
“It’s a long story that we’re still clearing out. But we need Jareid coherent to discuss the situation with him, and the actions to be taken. For now he needs to relax and get under control again. Let’s get him lying down.”
Jareid growled reproachfully at Bengali, but allowed himself to be laid down on the mattress. Not that he could have done anything about it, he was loosing the fight against the drug in his system. He however managed to keep his hold on Tygra’s wrist. The young tiger sat down and got himself comfortable on the bed, with Jareid’s head on his lap. He started to lazily comb the jaguar’s mane and Jareid started to purr, mostly asleep now.
“What happened to make him so angry?”
Bengali sighed, looking at the prince in concern.
“Lady Mai is pregnant. She told the entire court that the cub is Jareid’s and he didn’t like it.”
Tygra paused his hand motion on Jareid’s head and gaped at Bengali.
“Is that true?”
“Very likely. We still need to confirm it.”
Jareid moved and mumbled groggily.
“… ‘sss lying…”
Tygra resumed his grooming on his mate’s head and shushed him. Bengali sighed.
“Listen, Jareid never touched her. She has been banned from the palace from months now.”
“Then, how could she claim she’s with Jareid’s cub?”
“She managed to steal some of the semen samples we took from you two and kept on storage. We contacted the Shaman she came to for help, and he assured us that he inseminated her without knowing where the sample had come from.”
Tygra frowned. Jareid was silent now. He supposed that the sedative had finally won over.
“What’s going to happen now?”
“We’re still sorting that out. But don’t worry, we’d figure out a solution. Besides, we still have our own piece of news to consider.”
Ben winked in conspiration at him and Tygra put a hand over his belly. If he was with cub, it wouldn’t matter what Mai had done. His cub would still be the first to be borne. His bond with Jareid would be safe. He smiled and nodded to his friend. Bengali patted his shoulder and then left him to relax too.
&&&&&&&
The next morning, Tygra woke up in Jareid’s arms. It was raining again, and both cats were ensconced in a cocoon of light blankets. Tygra groaned and rubbed his stomach to appease the uncomfortable feeling in it. He hated to feel nauseous. It killed his appetite.
Jareid moaned and kissed Tygra’s crown. The tiger almost smiled. The jaguar prince was back to normal, or what passed as ‘normal’ for him anyway.
Last evening, Tygra had been able to explain, to a barely recovering Jareid, what Bengali had told him about Mai. He had had a hard time getting his mate out of the resulting rage, before the jaguar prince had actually managed to make a dent in the window. Jareid had been furious and had only came back to his senses because Tygra had confessed his and Bengali’s suspicions about his own pregnancy. Jareid had sobered up for an entire five minutes before starting a rant about they not informing him as soon as they had known. Tygra could live with that. At least his mate had been thinking again, and had stopped destroying what had been left of the room. He didn’t envy the poor servant who would have to do the cleaning.
Tygra sighed as he felt his mate’s hand raking the fur on the back of his head and his neck. Gods above! It felt so good! He moaned and Jareid moved a bit so he could kiss his lips.
“I’m still mad at you and Ben for not telling me sooner.”
Tygra chuckled. In a way he was glad that that was the first thing coming to Jareid’s mind. It meant that Mai’s treachery had lost a great deal of importance.
“We wanted to be sure first. We didn’t want you to go overboard without reason. I don’t want you to go overboard at all, but that may be impossible.”
“My friend and my mate are plotting against me. That kind of worries me.”
“We’re not plotting against you. You’d be in a world of trouble if we ever do that!”
Jareid chuckled and proceeded to lick and nibble Tygra’s neck. He sucked at his mark, happy when he heard the tiger moaning.
“Mine. All mine.”
He moved again and kissed Tygra’s nose tenderly. Then he looked at the tiger’s brown eyes and caressed his cheek.
“My gift. Maybe not a God’s gift, but still perfect for me.”
Tygra blinked in confusion before he recognized his own words from months ago. He blushed fiercely and ducked his head down. Jareid chuckled and continued grooming and kissing the tiger’s head.
“My perfect gift. You’re more than enough for me.”
Tygra moaned in mortification.
“Please stop it. I’m very ashamed that I ever told that to you! I must have sounded pathetic!”
Jareid lifted his face and looked at him with a soft expression that Tygra had never seen before. Jareid kissed him softly, almost lovingly. Tygra sighed. For just a moment he wanted to believe that he was actually loved. Jareid’s lips were at his ear suddenly.
“Don’t think that. It was a moment of weakness. You were upset and needed the reassurance.”
He continued caressing and kissing Tygra form time to time. The tiger moaned in contentment and snuggled into his mate’s embrace. They remained like that for long minutes until the alarm in Tygra’s communicator sounded, reminding the tiger of the activities for the day. The youth sighed and started to move. Jareid pouted at him and Tygra couldn’t suppress a chuckle.
“As comfortable as I am here in the bed, we should rejoin the land of the living, Jareid.”
“Why? We’re both happy here!”
“Yes, but I have to go to the Shamans’ wing, so Bengali and the High Shaman can confirm if I’m indeed pregnant.”
Jareid smiled and gave a quick kiss to Tygra’s nose.
“I’m sure you are.”
Tygra scrunched his nose and shook his head.
“Egocentric bastard. Nevertheless, we need the confirmation, and to put your parents’ fears at rest. We also need to be present at the meeting with your father, to see what’s going to happen with Mai’s cub.”
Jareid growled in anger. He couldn’t believe they were discussing what to do!
“I’ll kill her as soon as they tell me where they’re keeping her!”
Tygra looked worriedly at his mate, and put a hand on his chest to ground him.
“No Jareid. You’re not killing anyone. That’s not an adequate solution.”
“Why not? She’d be dead and gone, and the thing inside her too. No more problem!”
Tygra put a hand on his stomach protectively.
“Please Jareid. You can’t turn into a murderer. Killing is a horrible crime. A king can’t be a criminal. Besides, you’d be killing an innocent.”
“She’s no innocent!”
“But her cub is!”
“There’s no cub yet! Just an amorphous bunch of cells!”
“No! Jareid, please!” A tear went out of Tygra’s eye and down his cheek. Jareid immediately stopped whatever he had been about to say and tried to calm down.
“I’m sorry.” He said, embracing the young tiger. “I’m sorry, I’m just very angry, Tygra. She could have broken the bond. I can’t loose you because of her!”
“You’re not loosing me. I’m here Jareid. Please, promise me that you’re going to keep your act together. You can’t go into a rage again. Not with a defenceless cub.”
Jareid sighed and kissed Tygra’s head one last time.
“I’d try. For you, I’d try my best to keep calm. But if they put her in front of me, I can’t guarantee that I won’t hurt her! I might just tear her to pieces right there!”
“I’m sure no one is going to risk that.”
Tygra kissed his mate’s mouth and sighed in acceptance.
“Thank you, Jareid.”
&&&&&&&&
The meeting took place in the High Shaman’s office, because Baal didn’t want to attract more attention to the problem before he had a viable solution. He had toyed with the idea to simply make Mai disappear, but he’d bring the council down on him. The female had been sure to make everyone aware of her pregnancy, as well as the possible father. What she hadn’t counted on, was that every single cat in the court believed that the cub was Jareid’s and Tygra’s, not hers. That was because just a few really wanted the mating broken. The majority of the court wanted Jareid to keep his new attitude and becoming a good king. The court liked gossip, but they liked to have a prosperous kingdom more.
No one would question Baal if he decided to keep Mai hidden, but they’d demand explanations if he failed to present her cub after a reasonable time. That been told, he also had Xilara. The queen would never forgive him if he did something to get rid of the cub, even if it turned out to be the cause of Jareid’s mating to break. She was very sensitive on the subject.
They had investigated the facts and now had a clear knowledge of what had happened. It had left Baal with the unsavoury impression that there was not enough security in the Shamans’ wing, that teenagers lacked intelligence and common sense, and without his chief commander. Myron had been so ashamed by his daughter’s actions that he had renounced to his post. He had offered to take Mai away and make sure that no one would hear from either of them again. Baal had been tempted to accept that offer. If the entire court hadn’t been already aware of Mai’s pregnancy he might have let Myron to solve things his way. They still could deny Mai’s claim. They could say that it had been a false alarm and that the pregnancy hadn’t taken, but they would still need either the girl’s cooperation or a very good reason for her sudden absence.
Baal had spent hours the previous day discussing with Xiar their possibilities. They had kept coming to one conclusion. That cub had to disappear. It was a liability, and they couldn’t risk Claudus knowing of its existence. They could lie to the old lion about the cub’s parentage, but the Thunderian clerics would know the truth eventually. It’d cause more troubles than it was worth.
They needed to dispose of the cub somehow and deal with Mai in a way that she wouldn’t have the sympathy of the court or the citizens. Baal couldn’t be sure, but he could have bet that the female had alerted someone outside of the palace about her condition. Someone out there may be expecting an announcement from the king and might wonder what had happened to Mai. Maybe he was being paranoid, but they needed to cover all the possibilities. Xilara would never talk to him again, but he needed to do whatever was necessary for the stability of the kingdom. Jareid’s mental health was in jeopardy here. Even when Baal didn’t like to accept it, he could not deny that his son would be lost if they took Tygra away now.
Baal went to the meeting in a grim disposition. Xilara insisted on attending too, and he couldn’t convince her to wait for their resolution. She was determined to know every single detail of the case and help in the resolution. She won’t have any cub harmed, even if it wasn’t technically a born cub yet. He was pleased however to see both Jareid and Tygra there. He had hoped that his son would calm down enough to attend the meeting. He wasn’t aware that Tygra had helped, but was happy to see that the tiger’s presence was grounding Jareid somehow.
Xilara was pleased too. She noticed the tension on her son’s muscles and the hold he kept on Tygra’s waist. The young tiger looked a bit embarrassed, but he didn’t deny Jareid the comfort of the touch. He even leaned on his mate a little and the jaguar prince seemed to be trying to keep his focus on his mate.
Jareid greeted his parents and resisted the urge to demand to know Mai’s whereabouts. Tygra wanted him to respect the little wench’s life, so be it. He only needed to be sure that she was going to be dealt with and would not be a danger to his family. He tried to not fidget while they waited for the High Shaman and Bengali.
The commander arrived just moments behind them, and Jareid glared at him, wanting very much to tell him what he thought of the cat’s offspring. Granted, Myron wasn’t the only one at fault. He had been estranged from his mate for about five years. Well, if the mother was anything like the daughter Jareid could certainly sympathize with Myron, but the old cat should have gotten rid of both of them, not only one. Jareid looked again and narrowed his eyes. Myron was not wearing the commander insignia. He was about to ask his father what had happened when Xiar and Bengali finally appeared. Baal frowned at his High Shaman. It was not like Xiar to be late for a meeting.
“What took you both so long Xiar?”
“I beg your forgiveness your Majesty. Bengali has just told me something important. Before we make a decision, I think we should confirm his theory.”
He turned to the young couple and nodded to the tiger.
“Prince Tygra, if you’d be so kind to come to the clinic.”
Tygra nodded and both he and Jareid proceeded to follow Ben. Baal raised an eyebrow.
“What’s happening Xiar? Is something else wrong?”
“No. In fact, if Bengali is right, our problem might just have solved itself.”
He followed the three younger cats to the clinic. The remaining three soon were behind him, curious about what had happened.
&&&&&&&&
No force on Third Earth would have made Jareid leave Tygra’s side, so the Shamans didn’t even try. It was troublesome to get everything ready with Jareid getting in the way, and snarling at any thing that dared to get too close to Tygra. Bengali ended up doing almost all the work, and the young tiger apologized profusely for his psycho mate. Jareid nipped Tygra’s ear for that comment, but stood protectively beside the examination bed as Ben shaved the fur on Tygra’s navel and applied some gel. The white tiger then put the scanner in place and Xiar could turn it on. A frizzy image appeared on the screen next to the bed and both Shamans made some adjustments and moved the scanner a bit to get a better view.
Tygra was very nervous and Jareid was so focused on trying to soothe him that it took a while for them to notice that both Shamans were suspiciously silent. Jareid finally turned to them to ask what was going on and was surprised to look at the cats’ stunned faces. Was Bengali actually gaping at the screen?
Jareid turned towards the monitor to see what was the problem. He blinked and squinted his eyes at the bluish screen. He couldn’t distinguish anything! He turned to Bengali again and sneered.
“Ben? Third Earth to Bengali! What’s going on?!”
“Mmm… Well, I… umm… There are two sacs in there, right?” He looked to Xiar for confirmation. The High Shaman nodded and started to analyze the data that the machine was loading. Jareid frowned.
“Two what? Where? I can’t see a bloody thing!”
“Look.”
Bengali started to manipulate the screen and pointed out two circles. Jareid stared. Now that Ben had pinpointed them, he could see the two tiny figures.
“So, that means…?”
“It means that two of the embryos developed.” Said Xiar. “Interesting.”
“What?!”
Jareid turned to look at a very freaked out Tygra, who was starting to tremble. He grabbed the tiger’s hand and nuzzled his cheek.
“Shh. Don’t panic. It’s ok.”
“B-but… two? How?”
“Maybe the embryo divided?” Asked Ben. Xiar shook his head.
“No. These are not identical twins. The second embryo must have encysted, and when the third started to develop, the hormones should have stimulated the other. Both foetuses are at seven weeks of development. There is not much difference in time between them.”
Tygra sucked air and grabbed Jareid’s arm tightly. The jaguar started to massage the back of his mate’s neck and Bengali looked worriedly at him.
“It’s going to be fine Tygra. I’m going to take good care of you.”
Tygra closed his eyes and leaned on Jareid. He breathed his mate’s smell to calm himself and kept silent. Xiar and Bengali turned the scanner off, and Bengali helped Tygra to get ready to leave while Xiar went to inform the news to the king.
Tygra was still trembling. Ben guided the couple to sit on a pair of chairs, so he could check up the tiger and let him calm down.
“Everything is going to be fine Tygra.”
“But two… Ben, it was going to be difficult enough with one! Can a male even bear two cubs?”
“You’re a unique case. I admit that this is the first time this has happened. We are going to have to monitor you closely. If you can’t carry them both to term, we are going to have to prepare the incubator.”
Tygra put his hand over his stomach fearfully. A pregnant male already had to give birth a month early. The cub’s prospect for survival diminished the earlier it was born. If he couldn’t carry his cubs for at least the entire six months, they might not survive. Jareid tried to comfort him, assuring him that they’d be really careful and both cubs would be born safely. Bengali gave them some instructions and a special diet for Tygra before declaring that the young tiger was as healthy as could be and that he should avoid stress as much as possible. Tygra scoffed. As if that were possible, with Jareid as a mate. The jaguar prince actually chuckled and promised to make everything to avoid conflict. Before they left, Tygra still glared reproachfully at Bengali one more time.
“Are you sure this time that they’re only two Ben? Because if I end up having three cubs, I swear I’m going to kill the lot of you!”
“Easy now, no need to get violent. I swear you’re carrying only two cubs. The scanner’s detector would have given the data for a third foetus, even if it had been hiding from view.”
Tygra grumbled under his breath, annoyed that they had made him experience a painful third implantation when apparently he had been already pregnant. Ben smiled in sympathy at him.
“I’m sorry it was so difficult, but it might have been the third embryo the one that stimulated the second one. We don’t really know what happened to make your womb shed the lining even when there had been a successful implantation, so we really have no way of knowing if the second embryo would have developed normally if we had left it alone.”
Tygra sighed and nodded in acceptance, starting to rub his navel again. Jareid kissed the tiger’s temple and then frowned at Bengali.
“Why am I the only one who gets a real scolding when I threaten to kill someone?”
“Because you are actually serious when you say it, whereas the rest of the world is only talking because they’re upset, but the probability of them actually killing someone is remote.”
Jareid pouted and Tygra chuckled, finally relaxing a bit. The couple went out of the clinic to be congratulated by Jareid’s parents and join the meeting that was taking place in the clinic’s hall. Tygra’s pregnancy changed the situation in a determinant way.
&&&&&&&
Myron walked the way to his rooms for the last time. He was going to pack quickly and go home. Baal had tried to convince him to change his mind, but Myron knew that he wasn’t going to be able to see the prince in the face ever again.
He had threatened his daughter with telling the prince about her plotting with Bali months ago, but how could he when she was with cub? Mai had already betrayed the crown twice. That was already a death sentence. She was still alive, first because of the cub, and second because no one knew about her involvement in the assassination attempt against Tygra. As it was, what she did could not really be catalogued as high treason. It was theft in a way. She had technically stolen a cub, so now she would have to give it back.
Myron sighed. Mai’s cub was only a week behind Tygra’s twins in development, and it’d be born a month later. Thank the spirits that Tygra had been pregnant after all, or they’d have even bigger problems. Myron didn’t doubt that Baal would have ended up disposing of both Mai and her cub, law or no law.
He was surprised to find his estranged mate outside his rooms, apparently waiting for him. He scowled. He had told her five years ago that they didn’t have anything to do with each other and that he didn’t want to speak to her again. The feeling had been mutual, what would she want there now, after five years of blessed absence?
“Ika. What are you looking for, here?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not looking for you. I just want to know where my daughter is, so I can go and congratulate her. I suppose they are going to make an announcement soon. A consort always gets the most attention when she is already pregnant.”
Myron scoffed. As if.
“She’s not going to be a consort, or anything related to the royal family.”
“What?! But she’s carrying their cub! They owe her the position, and you should have pressured for it!”
“They don’t owe her anything! They didn’t want her to be the carrier. Prince Tygra is pregnant! Your foolish daughter stole the samples and went to one of the city’s Shamans who didn’t make many questions. He has been found already. He prepared the embryo from the samples and implanted it. She showed up with two of the servants, and the Shaman thought they were the parents. She is isolated until she gives birth.”
That was what they were going to tell. No one was to know that Mai’s cub was only Jareid’s. She’d have no right to the cub, they were going to take it from her as soon as possible. It’d be easier if everyone believed that it was not really her cub. No one would question the king’s decision if Mai were only seen as the carrier and not the actual mother of the cub.
Neither Jareid nor Tygra had been very happy with the decision, but for different reasons. Jareid was simply furious and didn’t want to have anything to do with Mai or her offspring. He didn’t want her close, and would be only too happy to just forget about her existence. Tygra on the other hand, had felt for the cub. He didn’t care about Mai one way or the other, but the cub would suffer at being separated from its mother. He didn’t want to inflict any pain on a little cub.
The High Shaman had assured him that they’d do everything they could to make it easier for the cub, and Queen Xilara had promised to help in the transition. She had originally offered to take the cub herself, but then everyone would ask why and their ruse would be discovered. Which meant that the cub would go to Jareid and Tygra as soon as Mai gave birth. Jareid had protested. He hadn’t wanted to accept the cub, but Tygra had agreed to take it. The tiger had pleaded to Jareid to keep the cub with them and the prince had caved, but he was not in the best disposition.
Ika was shocked to hear the news.
“She stole… That’s… impossible! How could she do something so stupid! She’s going to be in disgrace for the rest of her life! Didn’t you do something for her? Perhaps convince them to accept her as a carrier to avoid the scandal!”
“You want me to try to change prince Jareid’s mind, really?”
Ika paled. No one discussed with the prince. If he had wanted Mai dead, she would have been, no matter the problems such an act would bring on Baal. The king would sort them out eventually.
“No. For once it seems you did the right thing. At least she’s still alive. And she’d remain so, right?”
“As soon as she gives the cub to its parents, she’s going to be banished from the palace, and probably the city as well, but yes, she’d be alive.”
‘As long as prince Jareid doesn’t get to her, at least.’ He thought privately. Ika made a face of disgust.
“To Thundera?” She asked with derision.
“Surely.” Myron said, but he didn’t think so. Baal would not risk her worming her way into Thundera’s court and causing new troubles. She’d surely be confined to one of the other tribes that inhabited the jungle or close to it. Ika sneered and turned around to leave.
“I see it was a mistake to leave her with you after all. You couldn’t even guide her to succeed. Instead, you let her do stupid things like this!”
Myron growled at her back, but didn’t bother to answer. It was useless at that point.
&&&&&&&
Saixa stood nervously outside of Bengali’s office. She had gone to the Shamans’ wing to tend to her bruised wrist and to see if she could hear some news. The shaman who had treated her had already lectured her for taking so long in going, but the previous two days had been hectic and she hadn’t wanted to risk encountering Jareid or Baal, after she had foolishly told the prince about Mai.
The shaman had told her that the prince was no longer in a murderous rage, but nevertheless it’d be wise to stay clear of him for a time. The entire palace had already listened to the King’s announcement about the situation, and everyone knew that Mai was in deep shit. She was not likely to be seen in the court ever again.
Saixa couldn’t get her mind around the idea that someone had done something so… abysmal! One had to be really desperate, and stupid, to steal samples from the Shamans’ wing. Mai should have had help. She couldn’t have possibly pulled that on her own.
Saixa had been about to go and return to her rooms, but the shaman had told her that Shaman Bengali wanted to speak with her. She was curious about what he would want. There was no close contact between them, and she didn’t think that Jareid or Tygra would have need for her any longer. Which was really a shame. She had been getting used to the tiger. She could definitely see why Jareid preferred him to the rest of the court.
Sighing, she called on the door and entered the shaman’s office. Bengali looked at her and smiled.
“Lady Saixa. Good to see you. Sorry to call you this early in the morning.”
Saixa rolled her eyes. It was not that early. It was already past breakfast time. But Bengali was used to get told off if he called one of the court ladies before noon. They said that social etiquette demanded that every meeting outside the house was to take place in the afternoons, before dinnertime. Saixa was not much for following etiquette; besides, her wrist had been hurting.
“Not a problem Shaman Bengali. I came to see my healer anyway.”
Bengali noticed the bandaged wrist and nodded in comprehension, but didn’t pry anymore. Saixa took a seat on one of the chairs in front of Ben’s desk.
“So, what do you want me for?”
“Well…”
The sound of the door sliding open interrupted them, and Jareid came in. Saixa tensed, not sure of how the prince would react to her presence.
“Ok Ben, let’s do this quick!”
Bengali looked at the jaguar and raised an eyebrow.
“And Tygra?”
“Are you kidding me? He’s not going out of the room in the foreseeable future!”
Bengali groaned and massaged his temple. He was going to have a serious talk with their prince, again! Saixa barely suppressed a smile.
“I don’t think he’d be happy about that…”
Jareid glared at her, and she turned to Ben.
“But I’d shut up now.”
The prince smirked in satisfaction and leaned on the back of another chair beside Saixa. Bengali sighed and looked up to the two cats.
“Fine, let’s put this behind us. Lady Saixa, as you’re aware, Tygra is now seven weeks into his pregnancy. He’d prefer to have a nursemaid for his cubs. He’s not too fond of the idea of feeding them the special formula.”
Jareid huffed. Tygra had loathed the special formula. He had said that he wanted nothing artificial for his cubs. His little ones will have real milk, period. Saixa looked from one cat to the other before speaking.
“Are you asking me to be nursemaid? I considered the possibility, but with Mai already carrying, I thought that you were going to take advantage of her condition.”
Bengali sighed and Jareid grumped.
“We were. The prince here, didn’t agree with us.”
Saixa raised an eyebrow at said prince, who growled.
“She’s not touching my family. She’s not having anything to do with my cubs! Not any part of her!”
Saixa was about to comment that she was already carrying one of the cubs, but she rather wanted to leave the office in one piece, so she shut her mouth and thought about the offer.
“Am I actually nursing them?”
“Well, you’d just have to provide the milk. They are going to bond with Tygra after all…”
“And you’re not to be messing up with that, Saixa! You’d be only helping, understood?”
“All right, all right! No need to get violent. Gezz!”
Bengali glared at Jareid and waited for the prince to stop growling. The jaguar male relaxed once he was sure that Saixa understood what was expected of her. Bengali sighed.
“So, can we count with you for that?”
The jaguaress pressed her lips. It was not what she had wanted, but it’d help her to fend off her family for a while. She had decided long ago that if she couldn’t have her father’s seat in the council she won’t sit back and give it to a hypothetical mate. If it wasn’t Jareid, she was not mating anyone. The family would have to renounce to their place in the council if they wouldn’t tolerate a female as their representative.
While being a nursemaid wasn’t such a privileged position, it’d still mean that she was close to the royal couple, and would dedicate time to help Tygra with the cubs. Any possible mating would have to wait. She nodded at Bengali, and the white tiger smiled.
“Excellent. We’d need to do a couple of tests and then give you the pills for you to start producing milk. But all of that can still wait a couple of months.”
Saixa was dismissed shortly after that, and Bengali was left alone with Jareid. The prince stretched out and yawned.
“Told you she was going to say yes. She needs an excuse to escape her family’s pressure, and this is going to consume time. No one would dare tell her that she should have refused in favour of finding a mate.”
“Well, that’s at least one problem solved. But we still have the other, concerning Mai’s cub.”
Jareid gritted his teeth. He still was furious that he would have to take care of a cub that he hadn’t wanted in the first place. He had only accepted because Tygra had begged him to. His tiger was not going to ever condone to abandon a cub. It was already going to loose its mother. Tygra would never forgive Jareid if he rejected his own cub.
They had agreed to raise all three cubs, but the bond that the third infant was going to develop with Mai was going to be a problem. They needed a way to nullify it, or at least diminish its intensity, so the cub wouldn’t suffer the separation too much. They were going to take the cub away as soon as it was born. It’d be the same as when the mother died at birth. Only, they were going to have the same problem.
When the mother died at birth it was extremely rare that the cub survived. As a rule, the cub would not eat, either from the bottle of from a surrogate. In some fortunate cases, the father succeeded in feeding the cub and getting it through the crisis, but the majority died on the first week. The cub bonded with the mother through her heartbeat and her voice first, and her smell second. If it failed to recognize its mother, it’d grow very distressed and anguished, thus refusing to eat.
Jareid grunted in irritation.
“Have you given her the special recorder?”
Ben nodded. The device had a recording with the heartbeat and voice of Tygra. Mai had been told that it contained music, and that was all she was going to listen coming from it.
“Of course. The only problem is to make sure that she uses it. We can turn it on remotely while she’s asleep, but it’d be best if she puts it over her belly, like Sarai instructed her to do. Maybe we can try to tell her that you want her to do it. She’s still under the delusion that you love her.”
Jareid made a derisive sound. There were no words to express what he thought of that. He couldn’t believe that Mai was still keeping the illusion that he was in love with her, after he had tried to strangle her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. After what happened?”
“Well, she’s obsessed…”
“And delusional!”
“And she has convinced herself that we are telling lies to you and misleading you into believing that her cub is not yours. She’s insisting on talking to you. She wants to explain what she did, so you can see that she only did it because she loves you and wants to be with you.”
“As I said. Delusional!”
Jareid straightened and gave a suffering sigh.
“Look, I don’t really care what you do to get Mai to cooperate, as long as you don’t mix Tygra in that. I’m not interested to know anything related to her pregnancy. If it were my choice, I’d never have anything to do with the product either!”
Ben sighed sadly.
“Not even because it is your cub?”
Jareid growled in annoyance and bared his teeth to Ben.
“My cubs are the ones Tygra would give me, no one else’s! I accepted to receive this because Tygra wants it, but I really wouldn’t care less if it dies at birth!”
“You realize that you’re taking out your anger with a cub that had nothing to do with how Mai decided to handle things?”
“Its existence could have been enough to take Tygra away from me, no matter if it was at fault of not! That’s reason enough for me to despise the little thing!”
“Jareid, you can’t be thinking like that! You should see that ‘the little thing’ is yours!”
Jareid growled and clenched his fists. Ben tried to approach him, but thought better of it and sighed in defeat.
“Fine. I can see that I’m not going to get through to you. I hope Tygra would be more successful.”
Jareid glared daggers at him. For a moment, Ben was certain that the jaguar was going to attack him, but Jareid turned away and started walking towards the door.
“Just make sure that you deliver that bloody cub to Tygra. He’s not going to get distant with me because of the cub! I want him to be happy.”
Bengali knew that he should keep silent, but he couldn’t resist.
“You know? Mai’s obsession with you reminds me too much of your own obsession with Tygra. And it is scary.”
For his surprise, Jareid looked back at him with half a snarl on his face.
“Why do you think I want her dead? I know what I’d do to any cat that caught Tygra’s eye, and I know that I’d never stop until I’d have Tygra only for myself.”
He left the office, leaving Bengali groaning in worry and thinking that he didn’t like those parting words at all.
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A Tale of Jaguars