Beauty and the Beasts

Large droplets of tears rolled down Bai Qingqing’s cheeks as she muttered, “How could the scorpion poison be spread to An’an? She’s so young…”

She then threw herself into Winston’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Winston hugged her tightly and said, “She’ll recover after tonight.”

“But… what if…” Bai Qingqing was out of breath from crying, and it took a while for her to finish her sentence. “She doesn’t make it… past tonight?”

Winston didn’t respond and became silent.

Bai Qingqing continued to cry. She had a swollen head and a splitting headache from crying for so long. She couldn’t open her eyes and couldn’t fall asleep, either. Winston hugged her and patted her back from time to time as the two of them sat like that for the whole night.

Before the break of dawn, when the night sky was at its darkest, a series of light footsteps could be heard in the stone castle.

Winston’s round ears perked up as he turned to look outside.

Bai Qingqing raised her head as well. Her eyes were so red and swollen that they looked like peaches. She hadn’t heard anything, only having a certain feeling in her heart.

“Are they back?” Bai Qingqing asked softly as her heart rose to her throat.

“Mm,” Winston responded.

Harvey then rushed in.

Bai Qingqing immediately stood up and looked at him nervously. “How’s An’an?”

Winston stared intently at him as well.

Harvey was out of breath from running over so quickly. He said while panting heavily, “An’an… she…”

“How is she?” Bai Qingqing held her breath. It felt as if something was stuck in her throat, and a series of screams would rip from her throat if she relaxed even the slightest bit.

Harvey licked his lips. “An’an… she…”

Bai Qingqing anxiously grabbed his shoulders and desperately shook them. “Just how is An’an? Can you just finish your sentence?”

Too emotional to control herself, Bai Qingqing used all the protection given to her from Parker’s spousal mark and nearly pulled him down.

“An’an’s asleep!” Harvey roared, then panted as he rested a hand on his knee.

All of a sudden, all the strength left Bai Qingqing’s body and she went limp. Winston rushed to her side and caught her.

A female’s stifled cry was then heard in the house. Bai Qingqing could barely breathe. It was as if something in her world had suddenly collapsed and shattered into pieces—just like her.

Winston held her in his lap and gently patted her back. He then said in a rough yet gentle voice, “It’s okay. You still have me, Parker, and Curtis.”

“Roar!”

“Roar! Roar!”

“Roar!”

The leopard cubs gathered around their mommy as they desperately tried to validate their existence.

Harvey scratched the back of his head and asked in confusion, “I said An’an’s sleeping. What are you crying about?”

Bai Qingqing didn’t hear him at all as she was still sobbing uncontrollably. Winston’s ears perked up, and he suddenly turned to look at him.

“An’an’s alive?”

Harvey was astounded. “Since when did I say that An’an is dead? I only said that she’s sleeping. Did I not say that? Did I say something wrong?”

Harvey was dumbfounded and bewildered.

“Aaaah…” Bai Qingqing couldn’t make out what was being said, but the moment she heard An’an’s name, her cries grew louder.

Winston was speechless.

Harvey and the leopard cubs were speechless as well.

“Roar!” Refusing to be ignored, the leopard cubs broke the awkward “peace” and clawed at their mommy’s clothes.