The Conch of Battle

Almost 3 weeks after Amber came back to the Beast World, Queen Gennita and her army of Mermen finally arrived at the City of Beasts. Nick trained the beastmen how to use bows and arrows and spears. They were ready for war. He was prepared to wipe out the entire Merfolk race because they threatened his beloved mate. Amber woke from her nap in her castle when she heard the conch shell of battle. She sat up and rubbed her swollen stomach. She was now 3 weeks pregnant with Tyler's eggs and was due next week. She struggled to get out of bed. Oliver heard her and came in the bedroom to help her up. He took her hand and gently pulled her into his arms. He comforted her gently, "Don't worry, go back to bed. Nick and the others have this under control. It will all be over soon."

This did the opposite of comforting Amber. She was concerned for her mates, but she was more concerned about the Merfolk. She didn't want to be the reason for genocide! She knew the Mermen didn't have as many 4 or 5-striped beastmen as the City of Beasts. They would not win! She knew they would proudly die for their Queen, but she thought it was senseless in a world that struggled to survive. Amber hugged Oliver and then backed away to look into his eyes, "I don't want to kill an entire race of beastmen. Let me see if I can talk with Queen Gennita and form a peace treaty." Oliver was conflicted.

As a doctor, he was trained to preserve life as much as possible, but as a mate he could not allow anyone to threaten his mate. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed and agreed with her. "Nick is not going to be happy about this, but we can try it your way first. If the Merfolk will listen to reason, it would be for the best. Even though we will win, there will still be casualties. It's best if we can avoid the conflict."

Amber nodded happily and started to put her shoes on. Oliver picked her up and carried her towards the gate facing the ocean. Nick comanded his army of beastmen from the top of the wall. Amber gasped as she saw him. He looked like a modern day general, except for the ears, tail and clothes. He was a born leader.

Amber called out to him, "Nick!" He heard his mate's call even with all the chaos and surrounding noise. His eyes widened with surprise at first and then narrowed as he looked at Oliver in anger. Oliver was supposed to keep her away from the battle, safe inside the castle.

He was worried something might be wrong with Amber and quickly came down the wall to her. Oliver was at least smart enough to keep Amber away from the wall.

Oliver kept Amber in his arms in case he had to run away with her. She was too slow before the pregnancy and now that she was pregnant, she could not move easily.

Nick approached and as soon as he looked at Amber his anger faded. He asked her gently, "Were you afraid of the loud noises? You should go back to the castle. We can handle this quickly." He reached out to stroke her hair as to comfort her. It would have been sweet if he wasn't about to commit genocide! Amber held his hand in hers and looked him in the eyes. "I don't want to kill the entire Merfolk race because of me. Let me talk to Queen Gennita first to see if we can come to a peaceful solution." Nick was reluctant at first, but he saw her pleading eyes and couldn't deny her request. "Ok, we will try the peaceful solution idea first, but if they don't agree, you will go back to the castle while we take care of it. I need you to be safe." Amber nodded in agreement. Happy that he would give peace a chance first. She knew how protective he was of her. All of her mates were extremely protective of her, especially now that she is pregnant. Nick whistled for the other mates to come help protect Amber. Tom and Tyler were in the air patrolling while Barry was near the front line. She saw Eli and the cubs near the back. She would not let them go! They were still her babies!

No matter if they were considered fully grown or almost grown. They were only a few years old to her! She had only spent a few years with them and didn't want to see them get hurt in battle. She asked Nick, "Can you please make the cubs stay here? They are too young for battle." Nick looked at the other beastmen and they all thought the same thing. They were younger than that when they started to fight and survive. This world had a survival of the fittest mentality. He understood that Amber was not from here and didn't want to expose her or upset her. He called the boys and told them to stay inside the city. If any Mermen snuck inside, they would attack as a team and be safer together. The cubs and Eli nodded in agreement. Amber was pleased that he listened to her and found a way to not crush their spirits. His voice was like a general's when he commanded his troops. Amber called out, "I love you all, be safe for mommy." The cubs wagged their tales while Eli nodded in agreement. They were all excited for their first battle, but they would hold back a little to make their mother happy. Nick issued orders to the beastmen near to them and then to Amber's mates. "Tom, Tyler stay up in the air, but nearby if you need to swoop in and take Amber away. Barry, you are in front in case they don't want to speak peacefully. Oliver, you carry Amber behind me. Keep her safe, and hand her off to one of the flying beastmen if you can't out run the Mermen. They are faster on land because they don't have any water resistance to slow them down, but they can't fly or jump very high. They all agreed and Amber nodded. She was impressed by Nick's battle strategy. He would not take any chances if things don't go well.

Her safety was his number 1 priority. Otherwise, this battle would be pointless. His main goal was to live a long and happy life with his mate. He needed her to be safe in order to achieve his goal. Nick nodded to Barry to take the lead. Barry was the biggest and would be a massive tank. Bears love to eat fish! Barry was excited to lead the group and maybe get a tasty meal!

Nick let out a roar and his deep voice echoed into the Mermen troops, "My Queen would like to speak with Queen Gennita before the battle. If you are willing to talk, we may not need to kill all of you. Otherwise, prepare to die!"

Amber shuttered a little at the ferocity in Nick's voice. She had only seen the lovely side of him. This was the complete opposite of how he usually behaved, but she understood this was his nature as a Cheetah King. Beastmen respect power, so when Nick released his 5-striped power, many Mermen were forced to bow. The ones closest to Queen Gennita were higher level, but not 5-striped. They struggled, and almost lost control of the throne Queen Gennita was sitting on top of. She sighed and motioned for them to place the chair down. Ray appeared in front of his mate and suggested, "My Queen, we should talk to her first. It will be easier to attack if she is closer." He knew Gennita only cared about killing Amber. She didn't care if all her Mermen and mates were killed in the process. He preferred to survive, and knew Nick was a beastman of his word. If he said they would kill them all, he meant it. It would be a good idea to talk first.

Gennita sighed and then waived her hand, "Fine, since you know them, go and bring them to me."

Ray bowed and left to lead them towards Gennita. He noticed Amber was glowing and pregnant. He regretted his actions in the past. If he wasn't too greedy, she could be pregnant with his wolf cubs now. He knew Gennita would never mate with him again. She wanted a Mermaid child.

Ray approached Barry and lead them to Gennita. The other Mermen were on guard, but still struggled against Nick's pressure.

The walked towards Gennita and Amber proposed her peace treaty. "Hello Queen Gennita, we meet again." Gennita noticed Amber was pregnant and assumed it was a Mermaid. She lost control and lunged towards Amber.