Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Selection
"No."
He sagged with relief.
Thalara smiled widely.
"But your flesh smells unhappy."
The male nearly fainted.
Nahla pushed Thalara aside.
"Stop helping."
Two males eventually returned from the trees carrying Selka between them.
One was Brann, a thick wild boar beastman with a mating mark across his chest.
The other was Varek, a lean gray wolf beastman marked at the shoulder.
Both were Selka’s true mates.
Brann supported most of her weight.
Varek held her injured side.
Selka looked terrible.
Leaves filled her red hair.
Blood covered her mouth.
One arm hung uselessly.
Every breath made her face twist.
Vessa rushed toward her daughter.
"My baby!"
Brann growled at everyone nearby.
"Move."
Varek’s eyes remained lowered.
Neither male looked at Swanly.
They knew exactly who had ordered Selka spared.
They also knew exactly who Soren would kill if they complained.
Brea hurried forward.
"Selka, I was so worried."
Selka slapped her hand away.
"You let them blame me."
Brea recoiled.
"I defended you."
"You called this my fault."
"I was frightened."
Selka’s eyes promised revenge.
Swanly noticed something else.
Nerin did not move toward her.
The silver deer male remained near the back of the survivors.
His face showed no concern.
Arion did not rush to Selka either.
He watched her return, then looked back at Swanly.
Interesting.
But not her problem.
The final infection checks ended.
Nahla wiped her hands.
"No rot. Some wounds need treatment before night. Four have fever from exhaustion. One old male will collapse if someone does not feed him soon."
Soren looked over the group.
Then he looked at Swanly.
"You wanted them considered."
"Yes."
"Choose."
Swanly frowned.
"This is your tribe."
"They came through the path you cleared."
"That does not make them mine."
"You asked for them."
"I asked you to consider them."
Soren’s voice carried across the clearing.
"You will decide which of them enter."
Riverbone fell silent.
The former elders turned toward him.
Maela’s eyes widened.
Garran’s grip tightened around his staff.
Soren had placed the fate of Sunmane in Swanly’s hands.
The same female they had once cast out now stood between them and the only safe shelter they had found.
One Riverbone elder stepped forward.
"She is not an elder."
Soren looked at him.
"She killed the horde outside your gate while you remained behind the barrier."
The elder’s mouth closed.
Soren returned his attention to Swanly.
"Choose."
The system appeared beside her ear.
{Host has received border authority.}
I have received a headache.
{Leadership often begins that way.}
Swanly faced the survivors.
"Twenty people will be considered first."
The reaction was immediate.
"Twenty?"
"There are more than one hundred of us!"
"What about our families?"
"You cannot split us!"
Fear spread faster than rot.
Several cubs began crying again.
Swanly raised both hands.
"Be quiet and listen before you panic yourselves into the ground."
The noise slowly faded.
She pointed toward the open stone area outside Riverbone’s inner barrier.
"No family will be separated tonight. I am choosing twenty people for the first evaluation, not stealing them from their children."
The survivors watched her carefully.
Swanly began.
"Who can hunt without putting their mouth anywhere near an infected?"
Hands rose.
One broad male lifted his hand proudly.
"I can kill with my jaws before the rot enters."
Raku’s heavy tail slammed down in front of him.
"No."
The male jumped.
Swanly pointed away.
"Not you."
Raku nodded.
"Good decision."
"Who understands healing plants?"
Several females stepped forward.
Nahla immediately began questioning them.
"Which leaf lowers fever?"
A goat beastwoman named Sari answered first.
"Bitter moonleaf, but not for pregnant females."
Nahla’s sharp eyes approved.
"Stand there."
"Who can build shelters?"
A beaver beastman named Tovan raised both hands.
"I built half the water barriers in Sunmane."
Garran opened his mouth.
Tovan spoke louder.
"And received half a dried fish for three days of work."
Garran’s mouth closed.
Tovan joined the candidate group.
"Who has guarded cubs during attacks?"
A large brown bear beastwoman stepped forward.
Her name was Mora.
Scars covered one arm.
"I guarded fourteen during the fall of Sunmane."
A small wolf cub clung to her leg.
"He is not mine," Mora said. "His parents did not survive."
Swanly’s expression softened.
"Stand with the candidates."
"Who is hiding an injury?"
No one moved.
The system marked three people in yellow.
Swanly pointed at them.
"You three. Show your wounds."
A jackal male stepped backward.
"It is only a scratch."
"Then show it."
He hesitated.
Riverbone guards surrounded him.
The scratch was not infected, but it was deep and wrapped in filthy hide.
Swanly’s gaze hardened.
"You are not being removed because you are wounded. You are being removed because you lied."
The jackal lowered his head.
The survivors became quieter.
They understood.
Strength alone would not get them through the barrier.
Swanly watched who shared water.
Who pushed weaker people aside.
Who looked toward Garran before answering.
Who looked toward Selka.
Who protected unrelated children.
Who lied.
Who admitted fear.
Nerin stepped forward when she asked for trackers.
His soft green eyes met hers.
"Silver deer can feel hollow ground through our antlers. I can find underground water, unstable earth and hidden passages."
Swanly looked at his broken antler.
"Does that still work?"
"Yes."
His voice became quieter.
"Not as far as before, but I can still help."
"What is your name?"
Nerin’s face changed.
The hope inside his eyes shattered so quietly that only someone watching him closely would have noticed.
"Nerin."
He swallowed.
"You used to call me Neri."
Kael moved closer to Swanly.
His hand settled possessively at the back of her waist.
Nerin saw it.
His fingers curled.
Swanly’s gaze dropped to the bruises around his wrists.
"Who hurt you?"
Nerin hid his hand.
"No one."
The system flashed yellow.
Swanly looked at him.
"That was a lie."
His face paled.
Selka’s voice cut through the clearing.
"He is dramatic."
Everyone turned.
She stood between Brann and Varek, barely able to hold herself upright, yet still found enough strength to sneer.
"He bruises easily. Do not waste a place on him."
Nerin’s head lowered.
Swanly studied him.
"Are you mated to her?"
His head snapped up.
"No."
Selka’s face twisted.
"He is under my protection."
Swanly looked at his bruised wrists.
"That appears to be going wonderfully."
A few survivors lowered their heads to hide their reactions.
Selka hissed.
"Nerin belongs with my family."
"No mating mark," Swanly said. "No bond. He belongs to himself."
Nerin stared at her.
Something bright returned to his eyes.
"Nerin enters the candidate group."
Selka’s claws dug into Brann’s arm.
He winced but said nothing.
Arion eventually stepped forward.
The air changed immediately.
Kael’s hand tightened at Swanly’s waist.
Arion stood tall despite his injured arm and swollen cheek.
"I can hunt, lead patrols and fight infected."
"Without biting?"
"Yes."
"Will you follow Soren’s orders?"
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"Will you follow mine during this selection?"
Arion looked at her for a long moment.
"Yes."
"Will you stop Selka if she attacks someone weaker than her?"
His face changed.
Selka glared at him.
Arion’s answer came slower.
"Yes."
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