SSS: The First Legendary Beast Master

Water dripped somewhere in the darkness. The sound echoed off wood. Meera's claws scraped against wet rock as she crouched in her observation post. It was bunched up twigs atop a small hill. A makeshift cave for them. Right next to the massive hayloft where they housed the sleeping dragons.The afternoon sun struggled against rainclouds.

The guild hall in the town below reeked of strange herbs and iron. The guild master paced her office. Counted coins. Counted them again. Her scent carried worry - sharp and acrid. Like prey before the strike. She was the worst of them. She nearly wet herself with excitement when Bran brought Meera in. In many ways, she acted like her look-alike, Ariana.

Below, the humans scurried about their tasks. Sharpened blades. Checked bowstrings. Readied their little metal toys. The smell of leather and oil drifted up to her perch. Mixed with sweat and fear.

Her muscles bunched. Released. Bunched again. Five humans in sight. Soft throats exposed. One leap would take her to the big one with the scarred face. Bran called him Valik. Another to Tolk, the throat-cutter who'd helped slaughter her old pack. His hand never left his blade when watching Bran. At least one human had proper instincts.

Bran. Stupid Bran.He moved among them now. Nothing of the wolf showed in his new body. But sometimes his hand would twitch toward a tail no longer there. The thought of him made Meera's head throb. Since she swore the oath to Bran, something had changed. The Beast King's presence in her mind had vanished. Left a hollow space that now filled with... something else. Whispers. Fragments of foreign thoughts.

Mace's scent preceded him. Her packmate settled beside her on the ledge. His black fur was matted where silver arrow wounds still wouldn't heal right.

"You feel it too, don't you" she said in beast-tongue. Not a question. She gestured toward his head, which he kept shaking.

Mace's ears flattened. "The voice. Like the Beast King's. A whisper, sounds like Bran sometimes."

"We should tell him."

"No." Mace's growl was soft. "He has enough burdens. And we don't know what it means."

Below, the red-haired human female approached. Hana. She carried a bucket of fresh water to the wolves' drinking trough. Her movements were uncertain. Trying too hard to appear non-threatening. Then again, at barely 12 rotations old, how much threat was she really. Last night she'd crept in again. Sat for hours brushing Meera's fur while humming soft songs. Meera had let her. The girl smelled of loneliness. Maybe she could feel it from Meera too.

A commotion at the gate cut off Meera's thoughts. A rider galloped into the courtyard. Blood streaked his leather armor. A massive claw spear jutted from his shoulder. He toppled from his horse. Struck the mud with a wet sound.

The guild master rushed out. Knelt beside the fallen messenger. But he was already dead. Clutched in his rigid fingers was a rolled parchment sealed with red wax.

Meera inhaled deeply. Under the blood and mud, she caught another scent. Her fur bristled.

"Goblins," she whispered. "And something else. Something of our kind."

The Beast King's plan was in motion. And they were about to be caught in the middle of it.

---

The guild hall's main room stank of wet leather and blood. Hunters crowded around the long table. Rain hammered the shuttered windows. The dead messenger's letter lay in the center of the scarred wood.

Liana broke the seal. Her hands left red smudges on the parchment. "'Three towns lost.'" Her voice cut through the storm noise. "'Organized raids. Tunnels beneath all settlements. Request immediate assistance.'"

"Goblins don't dig tunnels." Tolk's fingers drummed his knife hilt. "Not like this."

"They do now." The big hunter, Valik, traced the route on a wall map. His scarred knuckles marked each fallen town. "Moving east. Toward us."

Bran stood in the shadows. Watched. Listened. His new human body felt wrong in the crowded room. Too exposed without fur. Too deaf without wolf ears. But he caught Meera's scent from the rafters above. Caught the tension in her muscles. She was ready to spring.

He sent a warning through their pack-bond before remembering it was gone. But something else flickered. A whisper of her thoughts? Kill them all. Start with the throat-cutter.

Liana's fist struck the table. Scattered drops from the messenger's blood. "I'm forming hunting parties. Tesa and Warren's teams will be main as always. Valik, you'll lead the third main team today. Take Tolk, Hana--" She met Bran's eyes. "And our new tamer."

Tolk's head snapped up. "The stranger? He's been here three days."

"And tamed two wild wolves in that time." Liana's voice could have frozen the rain outside. "Unless you'd prefer to face whatever's in those tunnels without beast support?"

Silence. Then Valik shrugged his broad shoulders. "What about the wolves?"

"They come too." Bran kept his voice flat. Carefully human. "They'll smell trouble before we see it."

Above, Meera's growl was too low for human ears. But Bran felt it vibrate in his bones. Along with something else -- a flash of Mace's den, the two wolves huddled, speaking of voices in their heads. Another illsusion? Neither Mace nor Meera had mentioned anything strange. Even an alpha couldn't read thoughts. The only one he could think of with that power was...

He pushed the image away. Focused on Liana unrolling a detailed map of the cave systems. On Tolk's fingers still caressing his blade. On the sound of rain drumming against the roof like war drums.

They had bigger problems now. Something deadly was unfolding. And Bran was placing his entire pack into the hands of their enemies.

"Everyone else, form hunting parties of three. Make sure there's a throat-cutter, a tracker and a trapper between you. let's head out, " Liana paused before adding, "May the hunt ever be in your favour."

---

Steel rasped on whetstone. Valik worked the blade in slow, steady strokes. The patience of a trapper. The armory smelled of oil and iron. Old blood. Older fears.

"Two hours till we move." He tested the edge with his thumb. "Check your gear now."

Hana knelt by her pack. Counted arrows. Checked fletching. Her hands shook. First real hunt. Last time they saddled her with pelt duty. A poor use of a tracker. She tied her red hair back before looking over at Meera and smiling. The red wolf seemed to shrug.

Tolk stood apart. His throwing knives gleamed with fresh poison. The throat-cutter. "These caves have three main entrances." His eyes never left Bran. "Unless our tamer's wolves know something we don't?"

Bran adjusted his borrowed leather armor. Let the question hang. Above, in the rafters, Meera's claws scraped wood.

Three hours later. The cave mouth gaped like an open wound in the cliffside. Black water lapped at the entrance. The storm had flooded the lower tunnels.

"Hana, take point." Valik's order cut through the rain. "And, weapon in hand while you track. We'll support."

The girl moved forward. Touched muddy prints at the cave's edge. "Goblin. Fresh. Maybe twelve hours." She glanced at the wolves. "And something bigger."

Mace growled low. The sound echoed off wet stone. His grey fur bristled at the cave's scent.

Wrong smell. Wrong place. The thought sliced through Bran's mind. Not his own. Not quite Meera's either. Was he hearing Mace's thoughts too?

Cold water struck his thighs as they entered. The flood reached halfway up the walls. Their torch flames reflected in black ripples. Made the shadows dance.

"Watch the ceiling." Valik's voice bounced off stone. "Goblins like to hide up high."

A splash echoed from deeper in. Could have been water falling. Could have been something else. Meera's ears flattened. Her red fur glowed in the torchlight.

The tunnel curved left. Narrowed. The water grew deeper. Carried the rot-sweet smell of goblin dens. But underneath -- something familiar. Something that made his missing tail try to bristle.

Hana froze. Raised her hand for silence. Ahead, the passage split into three other tunnels. Dark water flowed from each.

"Fresh claw marks." She traced the wall. "Not goblin. Too big."

"Beast sign?" Tolk's knife appeared in his hand.

"Yes." Bran kept his voice steady. "Bear-kin. Big one."

The hunters stiffened. Bear-kin meant the Beast King's elite. Meant they'd walked into something much worse than a goblin nest.

Water dripped in darkness. Something moved in the shadows. The hunt was about to begin.

The water rippled. No splash. Just a circle spreading wide. Meera's growl vibrated through Bran's bones.

"Move!" Valik's shout hit stone.

Something erupted from the black water. All teeth and claws. Goblin-stink filled the tunnel. Hana's bow sang. The arrow took the first goblin in its throat.

More shapes lunged from the depths. The flood had hidden their approach. Smart. Too smart for goblins.

Tolk's knives flickered. Found eyes. Found throats. The poisoned blades dropped three more before they reached the group.

"Ceiling!" Bran's warning came too late.

They dropped from above. Water splashed chest-high. Cold and black. Meera launched herself at the nearest goblin. Ripped its throat out. The water turned red.

A massive shape rose behind her. Bear-kin. Twelve feet of muscle and fury. Its claws could tear a man in half.

Watch the left tunnel. The thought speared through Bran's mind. Mace's voice. Clear.

The black wolf lunged past him. Slammed into a goblin sneaking through the water. Their fight churned the flood red.

The Bear-kin roared. The sound shook loose stone from the ceiling. It swung at Meera. She dove. Water splashed. The massive paw struck stone.

"Valik!" Hana's voice cracked. "The support beam!"

The big hunter saw it. The Bear-kin's blow had cracked the wooden beam. The ceiling groaned.

Tolk moved. Threw two knives in quick succession. They struck the Bear-kin's eyes. It howled. Reared up. Its head smashed the cracked beam.

"Fall back!" Valik grabbed Hana's collar. Dragged her toward the main tunnel.

Stone crashed down. The Bear-kin vanished under falling rock. Water surged. The flood rose higher.

Bran caught Meera's scruff. Hauled her clear as the tunnel collapsed. But she twisted free. She must've smelled something. She dove into a side passage. There, a wounded fox-kin lay trapped under fallen stone. Blood darkened its red-gold fur. It was much smaller than she was. Fox kin always were.

The dying beast-kin's eyes went wide at her approach. Tried to speak in beast-tongue. Meera knew this fox-kin.

"Why are you here?" Meera's voice sounded like growls to the humans. For beast ears only.

"Meera? What are you doing here with humans? I heard your pack was wiped out. Did they capture you?"

Meera growled. A warning. "Why are you here Kuvira? Speak."

"The Beast King..." Blood bubbled from its mouth. "Sensed something in human lands. A new power. Like a newborn Beast King, but not. All territories are searching..."

Meera's claws tightened on its throat. The Beast King , Monarch of Prey was so frightened by the emergence of a new power he had diverted his armies to kill it in its infancy. A newborn Beast King? She thought back to the whispers in her head. Whispers that spoke in Bran's voice. Whispers that sounded like the Beast king. Her eyes found Bran in the darkness. She turned back to Kuriva.

Meera's bite was quick. Clean through the throat. She rejoined the group as they splashed through darkness. The sound of falling stone pursued them. Finally reached a higher tunnel. Dry ground.

Hana counted heads between gasping breaths. "Everyone alive?"

Tolk retrieved his knives from the rubble. Tested their edges. "Bear-kin hunting with goblins. Fox-kin hiding in tunnels.Something's wrong here."

Bran examined claw marks on the wall. Three different types. Bear. Wolf. Fox. His blood ran cold. Beast-kin never hunted together. Never. The Beast King, Monarch of Prey, kept his forces separate, controlled.

His voice is gone.Meera's thought cut through his mind. Sharp as fangs. But I can hear you now. We all can. And you can hear us too can't you?

Their eyes met.

Something was changing inside him. And whatever it was had the Monarch of Prey gathering his armies.

Torch flames cast broken shadows on wet stone. The higher tunnel stank of copper and rust. Old mining rails stretched into darkness.

Mace licked his wounds. Blood matted his black fur. Meera positioned herself between Bran and the hunters. Her claws clicked on iron tracks.

"Those weren't normal goblins." Hana cleaned gore from her arrows. Her hands had stopped shaking. "Too coordinated."

"Like the bear." Valik traced fresh claw marks on the wall. Deep gouges in solid stone. "And now we've got fox prints. Since when do they hunt together?"

Tolk crouched by a half-buried chest. The lock had been torn away. "Supply cache. Other hunting parties made it this far." His knife prodded scattered contents. "No bodies."

They're searching every settlement. Meera's thought cut through Bran's mind. We need to get you out of here.

Water dripped somewhere in the darkness. Carried echoes of movement from deeper tunnels. The Bear-kin's roar had woken something.

"We should go back." Hana nocked an arrow. "Report what we found."

Meera's growl stopped Bran's response. A scream echoed through the darkness. Human. Desperate. Close.

"That's Tessa's voice." Hana's face went white. "From the second hunting party."

The scream came again. Followed by sounds no human throat should make.

Bran caught Meera's eye in the torchlight. Her ears lay flat against her skull. They both knew what the Beast King's search parties would do to anyone they found.

The longer we stay, Mace's thoughts joined theirs, the more likely they'll sense what you are.

I don't know what I am, Bran's thought poured into their heads. Clearly this time, like the Monarch of Prey, but gentler.

Another scream pierced the darkness. Closer now but echoing. Direction uncertain. Time to choose - rescue the other hunters, or protect their secret.