Welcome to the Jungle

"So… wanna explain the whole dragon thing to me?" I asked as we traveled through the jungle forty minutes later, barely able to hide my excitement.

The idea of living in the same world as fantasy creatures like dragons had the fangirl in me squealing with joy. Yeah, I knew beastmen were fantasy beings too, but this is dragons we're talking about here.

Freaking dragons!!!

They're one of my favorite fantasy creatures, along with unicorns, griffins, sirens, centaurs, pegasuses… The list could go on forever.

And because I'm such a fantasy lover, the idea of seeing a creature I loved reading about was literally a dream come true. Almost made my hatred for jungles disappear. 

Almost.

"Do you like dragons?" Ahi asked, bringing me back to reality as his grip on me tightened a little.

Didn't take a genius to figure out that Ahi was jealous. It killed my excitement for a moment, making me wonder if we should have this conversation.

But I decided to continue the conversation. I wanted to learn more about dragons in this world, among other things, but if Ahi couldn't control his jealousy when I asked questions, then being mates was never going to work like this.

I didn't like the idea of testing him like this, but in a world where my safety was in the hands of my mates, there was no way I was going to make a mistake. Toxic people had no place in my new life. Simple as that.

"If you're asking if I like them as a mate, then no. If I ever met a dragon and was interested in making them my mate, I'd still go through the same process I did with you and make sure they agree to my conditions." I explained. "The reason I'm asking now is because I've heard a lot of stories about them, but didn't really think they were real. So, I'd like to learn about them from you."

Ahi's grip on my loosen as he let out a sigh of relief, clearly happy with my answer. Seemed he was worried about my interest in dragons.

So, I added, "If I'm ever interested in making anyone my mate, you'll be the first to know. After all, one of my conditions was that I'd get your approval on the matter. So don't get too jealous when I ask questions. I promise you 90% of the time, I'm just curious about something."

"I wasn't-" Ahi started, but my hand went over his mouth.

"Don't lie. Anyone could tell you were a little jealous. It's not anything to be ashamed of if you don't let that jealousy cloud your judgment and hurt me." I said, gazing deep into Ahi's eyes. "Feeling a little jealousy for your mate is a normal thing, but instead of acting out on it, tell me about it. We'll work it out together."

I slowly removed my hand, letting the words sink in. 

While it was impossible to ask Ahi or any other future mate not to get jealous at all, I could ask them to tell me about it. We could talk things out and maybe come up with some kind of compromise that wouldn't hurt anyone.

Ahi came to a stop, staring at me for a moment. "Okay…"

I waited for him to say more, but he unexpectedly turned his head away, eyes narrowing on some bushes in the distance. Birds flew away from that spot and Ahi's grip on me tightened once more.

Ahi let out a low hiss as something moved in the bushes and fear claimed my heart. Whatever was coming this way was dangerous. Ahi rarely hissed, kind of like those silent dogs who'd almost never barked and when they did, it was to let out a warning bark before they attacked.

"Elisa, go hide by those bushes and stay quiet." Ahi murmured softly before putting me down.

I nodded my head in understanding, not needing to be told twice. Ahi was going to fight whatever was out there and there was no way in hell I was going to get in the way. I'd just cause more trouble being in the way.

So, I hurried over to some bushes behind us, carefully tucking myself behind it so I couldn't be seen. I grabbed my pepper spray, letting it hang on my wrist before I clutched my bag tightly, trying to calm myself.

Everything would be fine. 

Ahi was just going to take care of whatever was there and we'd continue on our way to the village. Hiding here was just a safety precaution….

It was then that a horrible stench hit me. It took everything not to gag at the horrid smell. Whatever was causing that smell needed to be burnt!

Roar!

As if my senses weren't assaulted enough, an ear piercing animal cry filled the air. My hands immediately covered my ears as the sounds of beast cries and hissing rang through the jungle.

I knew Ahi was fighting some kind of beast, worry soon filling me as the sounds began to die down. My arms wrapped around my bag as I slowly took a peek of the scene before me.

And regretted it two seconds later.

Ahi, now a giant black snake, was ripping apart at some kind of furry beast mutation thing. I didn't even know what to call it, but there was blood and gore everywhere.

Yeah, I was going to lose today's lunch of trail mix.

 But before I could even do so, a hand covered my mouth as did a thick arm around my forearms, locking me in a tight hold. A chill ran down my spine as dread gripped me.

"Like my distraction?" A familiar voice whispered in my ear. "A few more are coming so don't even think of trying again funny."

At his words, a few beasts appeared, all screeching at Ahi. They looked like boars, but had trunks instead of tuck and spikes running down their backs. I decided to take an educated guess and called them monsters.

Ahi lifted his head up and hissed at the trio of monsters. They screeched back at him and a fight began. Not that I got to watch it for long with my kidnapper dragging me backwards.

I tried moving my body, trying to escape, but it only made his grip tightened. Screaming was unless with his hand covering my mouth which suddenly sparked an idea. I opened my mouth, catching a finger and biting hard, hoping the pain would get him to loosen his grip.

Instead, he stopped and bent his head to my level. "I'll bite back the next time you try biting me."

Yeah, no thanks. Besides, my teeth had already told my brain how sore it was biting your finger. Why did this damn asshat have to have hard skin? 

I hated this whole situation. Everything had been going so well, only for me to get kidnapped. And when we were so close to the village. Why did that crocodile beastman from my first day here have to suddenly appear again?

My brain was getting overwhelmed at the thought of being kidnapped and I could feel the tears threatening to fall. I bent my head down, trying to hold back the tears as I continued wiggling and trying to get out of his hold. That's when I noticed my boots next to his bare feet. Maybe…

I slammed my left foot on his toes, digging the heel. He hissed in pain, his grip loosening enough that I could escape. I quickly moved my arm, sending an elbow into his nose.

The beastman fell back and I moved swiftly, running away from him. I didn't care where I went as long as it was away from that bastard. Turning my head to see he was still on the ground, clutching a bloody nose, I felt a little happy.

He deserved it, especially with how painful that was. I was lucky my elbow wasn't broken…

Of course, I should have been looking at where I was going because next thing I knew, I hit something hard. My bag softened the blow slightly, but the momentum had me falling on my butt.

And when I looked up to see what I had run into, a mixture of despair and shock filled me. Standing before me were two copies of the guy I was running from. The only difference was, they were bigger and had crocodile tattoos with two stars each.

Just my luck that I ran into croc boy's brothers. Well, I guessed they were brothers…

The one moved forward, smirking as he gazed down at me, "You found quite a feisty one, brother. She will be a great mate for everyone in our clan."

Um… excuse me what?!