This is the last chapter of Bai's side story. I hope you enjoy the finale. Jenny's epilogue should follow soon. Maybe not today, but no later than three days from now. Enjoy.

Posted August 19, 2022.

Two weeks later

Bai recovered slowly from her pregnancy while Harvey and Parker worked on stuffing her to the gills. "How much do you think I can eat?" She would ask when they went overboard. Her daughter cried and she tried to soothe her. "It's okay Susu. Mommy is not really upset," she cooed.

Susu quieted down immediately. Bai Qingqing sighed in relief. Her daughter would cry easily, but was soothed easily too. It didn't even need to be her, anyone else could achieve the same feat. Unless her daughter was hungry, then Qingqing was the only one who could do it.

She looked at her daughter who was now several weeks old. Her features were closer to Harvey's but her eyes were brown like Bai's. Her hair was still blond, but a little darker than her father's. Susu stared back at Qingqing as she spit out some bubbles.

Looking around and noticing the absence of Curtis, Bai worried. They had been gone several days now in an attempt to bring down St. Zachary. Bai shivered in fear while recalling the massive scorpion that kept her and her family from experiencing peace.

Bai was initially upset to learn that they allowed the ape king to ally with them. He was the one who started all this, how could she forgive him enough to work with him? It was a good thing she didn't actually have to see him otherwise she might not be able to do it. Curtis swore he would kill the ape king, but Bai worried he might escape in the chaos of battle.

The last two years of running for her life hardened her heart. Although she didn't want to condone killing, as she still felt it was wrong, the ape king had it coming. Bai got upset making Susu cry again. It lasted for only a moment as Bai calmed her daughter down.

Bai really hoped the plan worked. She desperately wanted to breathe again.

Meanwhile,

Curtis dodged the pincer that tried to grasp him. St. Zachary may have more strength and endurance than himself, but not speed. Winston and Sieg pressured the scorpion, but couldn't land any solid blows. The best they were able to accomplish was tearing off a leg. Sieg's maw, even at only four stripes, packed the same power as one of St Zachary's pincers.

Additionally, its stinger had a hard time piercing the lizard's tough scales. St. Zachary was now the most weary of Sieg after Curtis. Muir was many responsible for guiding them and picking off any scorpions that appeared to help with the wolf king aiding him.

Once all additional threats were eliminated, their real plan could begin. Muir dropped a stone vat on top of St. Zachary, signaling the start of their strategy. The scorpion failed to notice Muir thanks to the ape king's interference. The stone shattered as it hit his hard carapace and doused the scorpion in oil.

The beasts gave St. Zachary no time to contemplate what all the oil meant. The area they chose was stony and sparse of vegetation. They would not have to worry about setting the forest ablaze.

Muir descended to grab the second bundle from the ape king. Jenny had referred to it as a bomb. Once Muir learned of what a bomb could do, he tried to pry the information from Jenny. She refused him and he couldn't make her spill those secrets. Muir had turned his attention to the ape king and probed him instead.

The ape king only supplied Jenny with saltpeter, but did not know anything beyond that. Bard wouldn't tell Muir where he mined it either, further irritating him. He wanted to have that information for the future since it could come in handy. His gaze wandered to Curtis before flickering back to the bundle.

"Listen Muir, you need to drop this on or next to him before the fuse reaches its end. Be careful not to let it burn out and don't get caught in the blast," cautioned the ape king as blood dribbled from his mouth and nose. He had been providing a lot of support and it had worn him down.

The rest waited for Muir. Much to the eagle's frustrations, the fuse kept failing, requiring him to keep returning to the ape king often. "The winds are putting it out," lamented the ape king.

"Okay," Muir shifted and said. "Hide me and I will approach like this." The ape king nodded stiffly at the order. It would be hard in his current state, but he would do it.

A roar drew their attention. The scorpion pulled its stinger out of Winston's back while crushing the alligator's leg in one of its pincers. Muir moved quickly and Curtis took advantage of the situation to seize its tail.

Sieg bit down on the pincer that had him, getting it to loosen its grip on him. He proceeded to death roll, ignoring his broken limb. The wolf king pounced and aimed for St Zachary's eyes. Despite the numerous distractions, St. Zachary still saw him coming. The wolf king managed to claw out several eyes before the free pincer grabbed him. Crying out in agony as his limb was crushed, the wolf king pushed through it, damaging a few more eyes in the process.

Sieg's roll was effective. He managed to twist and tear off the pincer. Curtis was trying to destroy the stinger and nearly succeeded. Winston stood swaying, trying to force himself back into the fight. He was seeing multiple St. Zachary's and couldn't figure out which one was true.

Half blinded and missing two limbs now, St. Zachary flailed around in a rage. Cutis continued to fight the tail and now a pincer. Sieg dropped the liberated pincer from his maw and targeted any limb he could get close too. His broken limb did not cause him much trouble, but the same could not be said for the wolf king.

Muir got right up to the scorpion and strapped the bomb underneath it using some recently harvested tree roots. It was haphazard, but the best he could do. He jumped backwards as the ape king's protection wore off. Sieg ripped another leg off and retreated slowly. The wolf king was hit hard and flung away. Curtis was the last to notice, but still the fastest among them.

Sieg knocked Winston's unsteady form as far away as he could. St. Zachary prioritized Curtis as he was the strongest threat. Curtis hissed and tried to keep him from moving about too much. He didn't trust in this bomb entirely, but it should at least disorient the scorpion long enough for Curtis to finish him.

The bomb detonated, blowing apart St. Zachary's body. Curtis was thrown back violently, completely caught off guard by the strength of the blast. Muir's body tumbled through the air as he tried to right himself mid-air.

The beasts watched the destruction as the black body parts caught fire. Curtis shook his head. His ears were still ringing. Much to his surprise, St. Zachary was not dead yet. He was close however. His body was in several pieces, but his carapace did not burn. Surely his insides were cooking anyway.

Curtis couldn't get close and watched until the beast ceased to twitch. He had underestimated this bomb, but the threat was gone. Curtis could live with that. Having confirmed the death of the enemy, Curtis turned his slitted gaze towards the ape king's direction. He had one more to deal with.

Sieg had Muir carry the unconscious wolf king back and took Winston himself. He found the stash of crystals he hid long before the battle began and split them between himself and the delirious tiger. Winston raged, aiming his fangs at hallucinations Sieg couldn't see. Sieg kept him out there like that. It was too dangerous for him to go back in the village as he was. Sighing at the extra work, Sieg let out his beast pressure every so often to draw Winston's attention.

Muir carried the wolf king back and relayed everything to Jenny and Harvey. With a deep frown on their faces, she and Harvey determined the wolf king's limb to be done for. It was completely mangled and lacked blood flow. With heavy hearts, they set to amputating it.

Harvey looked at Jenny. She was pale and shaky, clearly worried about Winston and Sieg. Muir had relayed them their physical states without holding back. Harvey could feel the uneasiness rolling off of her in waves as she had listened.

A day passed and then another, Winston and Sieg still had not returned. Muir reported that they were fighting off the effects of the venom, but they were lively. Jenny bit her nails anxiously and busied herself with anything she could as a distraction.

Bai tried to see Jenny on several occasions, but Jenny wouldn't meet with her. Bai had wronged her, but the threat was gone now. Muir even said that her mates were okay... Then again, if it was Cutis and Parker out there, she would be worrying too. Having sympathized, Bai would leave Jenny alone until they came back.

After several days, a tired looking Sieg came back stripeless, carrying an unconscious Winston. Harvey and Jenny immediately tended to him. His arm was not in as bad of a shape as the wolf king's was. Harvey still had to re-brake it and fasten it to a splint. Sieg hissed and huffed, but let Harvey do what he needed to do.

Harvey watched Jenny wipe down Winston with unshed tears of relief in her eyes. Winston's wound from the stinger healed, but a scar remained. Harvey sighed in relief as he watched. He was glad that they had no losses. He would never be able to look Jenny in the eyes again if they did.

Bai leaned into Curtis. True relief crashing down on her. "Thank you," she whispered over and over. She would have to thank Muir, the wolf king, Winston, and Sieg too. She could finally sleep deeply without fear. They could stop running.

It took Bai a month to be able to see Jenny. Bai wasn't stupid, she could tell that Jenny was avoiding her. All she wanted to do was apologize to Jenny and thank the rest, but Jenny wasn't letting her. Even Harvey tried to talk her out of it, wearing a guilty expression. It wasn't his fault, so why did he have to look like that?

When Bai finally caught the other women, she was harshly shunned. "How long are you planning on staying for?" Jenny asked coldly.

Feeling the barb in her words, Bai flinched. An unknown pressure seemed to be weighing on her making her hesitate. The women in front of her wasn't even faking pleasantries now. "I-I'm so sorry Jenny. I didn't know what else to do. Curtis said it was the best way," Bai said with tears in her eyes.

Bai could hear Jenny grinding her teeth. Jenny was looking at her like she was an enemy. "That isn't good enough," Jenny spoke each word slowly.

"What?" Bai gaped. What else could she say if that wasn't good enough? She couldn't rewind time.

"Think. Would you be so quick to let it go if it was your family?" Before Bai could respond, Jenny continued. "Even if you could, I can't," Jenny said curtly.

When Bai didn't answer immediately, Jenny turned around and left. Feeling like she ran a lap, Bai huffed and sunk to the ground. Whatever friendship they could've had was no longer a possibility. Jenny had made that very clear to her.

After discussing it with her family, Bai and the rest decided to move. She was so tired of moving, but didn't want to live in a hostile environment. It was clear that she was unwelcome.

Parker visited his father's village and met with his parents. His mother showed a great amount of relief for him and Parker broached the topic. "I'm looking to find a den for Qingqing, do you have any available?"

"Even if we do not, you can build one," said Parker's mother excitedly.

Parker paid and got to work on the den. His skills had improved over the years and he would definitely make a good one.

It took some time for Bai's new home to be completed. Once it was, Bai left with an awkward goodbye. Harvey and Jenny chatted sadly making Bai feel strange. Why wasn't Jenny treating him as badly as her? 'They were both guilty,' Bai thought. 'They all were.' Bai looked at Curtis who didn't seem to care. Muir looked just as cold.

Sighing, Bai left the village and headed towards her new home. Susu remained quiet in her arms.