The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe

Chapter 357: The Hero Treatment

The ’hero’s treatment’ was officially in full swing, and frankly, I’d have preferred another round with the snake woman over the fussing I was currently enduring.

Fenric didn’t even give me a choice. Before I could protest the ’mini Great Wall’ plans, he had me hauled over his shoulder like a sack of especially bloody grain.

"Hey! Put me down! I have blueprints to draft!" I yelped, my legs dangling in the air.

"The walls aren’t going anywhere in the next hour," Fenric grunted as he walked with a steady stride over the slope.

"Little tiger, you must take care of yourself first and foremost," Noah added, following on the side.

"The babies are safe and asleep right now, so you do not need to worry about that," Thalor added. "Focus on recovery."

I sighed, staring at the ground as it moved beneath us.

"You guys are being dramatic. It’s just a few scratches."

They didn’t listen. They marched me straight back to our quarters. And then in no time, they got a basin of warm water and a pile of clean linens ready.

Noah was barking orders at the warriors outside to keep the perimeter airtight, while Thalor and Fenric took on the role of ’Royal Nurses.’

The washing part was the worst. As the water cleared away the blood in my body, the reality of the fight started to show on my skin.

There was a nasty, darkening bruise blooming across my belly—the souvenir from the force of stopping that murderous tail jab with the ironwood sled. Seriously, without that sled, my stomach would’ve had a big hole.

What would my babies do without me?

Then there was the deep cut on my arm, and a roadmap of scrapes along my thighs from sliding across the nursery floorboards.

"Ouch! Easy with the cloth, Thalor," I hissed, pouting as he dabbed at a scrape. I looked at the bowl of mashed green herbs Fenric was prepping. "Those aren’t going to do much. They aren’t Damar’s herbs. He’s the only one who knows the right mix to make the wound and scar go away."

"Well, Damar isn’t here. So this will suffice for now," Fenric muttered, his face tight with a mix of guilt and concentration. "Just stay still, Arinya. Please."

I wanted to grumble about needing to get to my work station and about how the wounds didn’t hurt a bit, but that would’ve been a fat lie.

They were stinging so much, and my belly was starting to ache.

I felt like I would throw up at any moment.

Then, when I lifted my head, I saw the two sheep girls, with Robin behind them.

They had brought my cubs back, sleeping in their arms, and the moment they saw me, the tent was filled with their scared sobs and the sound of tiny, soft wheezing sleeping babies.

Seeing my babies safe, whole, and completely unaware of how close they’d come to disaster made the stinging in my arm vanish. Relief washed over me so thick I could taste it.

And then for the sheep girls. They must’ve been so scared, since they wouldn’t stop sobbing.

"I’m okay," I whispered, reaching out my hand to wipe the tears on their adorable faces. "And thank you. If you hadn’t taken my babies to safety, it would’ve been hard for me to fight."

"Land-Mother," their eyes teared up even more, and I smiled.

"Yeah, just let it all out,"

Robin bowed his head.

"Thank you once again, Land mother." He said, and the bow felt a little too much.

"Well, any queen would’ve done it," I said. "I just made sure to protect my people."

Then, the moment was interrupted when more guests came in.

A shadow fell over the tent entrance, and I looked up to see a group of women standing there. It was the committee mothers—the very same ones who had spent weeks working on the construction site to prove they weren’t ’just’ females.

At the front was the mother of the wolf pup I’d snatched from the snake’s claws. She was in tears, her face puffy and red, clutching her son to her chest so tight the poor kid looked a bit squished.

"Arinya," she sobbed, dropping to her knees at the edge of my furs. "If it wasn’t for you... If you hadn’t been there... my son would be..."

The other mothers bowed their heads; their previous animosity completely evaporated.

While it was true that we had put our differences aside, there were still a few who were unsatisfied with me. But after this incident, they couldn’t bear to keep a grudge anymore.

They had finally seen how extraordinary I am.

"We were wrong," one mother murmured, her voice trembling. "I’ll be honest and say when you made the nursery palace and put us to work, I saw you as a do-gooder trying to win favor with everyone despite how good the change was. I thought," she pursed her lips. "...you were nothing without your mates, and that once real trouble hits, you will definitely run and hide like we did in Garrot’s rebellion, but you... You actually fought for our blood like it was your own."

"Please, stand up," I said, feeling that familiar, awkward heat crawl up my neck. This was getting way too intense for my liking. "I just did what anyone would do. I have claws, might as well use them, right?"

The wolf mother wouldn’t hear it. She grabbed my hand—the one that wasn’t bandaged—and pressed it to her forehead in a gesture of absolute fealty.

"You saved the tomorrow of the West Way. From this day on, my life and my everything belong to you."

I smiled awkwardly.

"That’s a bit much, don’t you think? I don’t want your everything."

But she wouldn’t hear of it.

I looked at Noah and Fenric, silently pleading for an exit strategy. It was a lot. I was bruised, bloody, and tired, and now I had a fan club of crying mothers who wanted to dedicate their lives to me.

"Okay, okay," I said, offering a strained, lopsided smile. "Thank you. Really. But if you want to thank me, go help Noah’s scouts. We have a wall to build, and I’m going to need every pair of hands in this kingdom to make sure no red-scale or a different threat ever sets foot on this grass again."

They nodded fervently, finally retreating to spread the word, leaving me alone with my mates and my kids.

Robin and the two sheep girls left as well.

And I felt I could finally breathe.

"Well," I exhaled, leaning back into the furs as Thalor finished the last bandage. "That was awkward."

"You saved their children, Arinya," Thalor said, his violet eyes glowing with pride. "In their world, there is no greater debt."

"Great," I muttered, looking at my bandaged arm. "Now, can someone bring me a piece of slate? I have a ’Great Wall’ to design, and I have a feeling I’m not going to get any sleep until I know those kids are behind ten feet of solid limestone."

Fenric and Noah exchanged a look, but they didn’t argue this time. They knew better than to stand between a mother tiger and her quest for greatness.