Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 145: Wonder Tigerwoman

Vex moved with a sudden, fluid urgency. He quickly put Ren down on her feet, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ren unbalanced a bit, her knees still feeling like jelly, but Vex steadied her instantly. He pressed a long finger to his lips, his orange eyes wide and commanding silence, before he abruptly pulled her against him.

Ren gasped as her face was buried into his bare chest. He wrapped his arms around her, shielding her completely with his body, his broad back and tails serving as a wall between her and whoever stood behind them.

"Just following a scent trail, Vara," Vex said, his voice light and airy, though Ren could feel the tension vibrating through his ribs. "I was chasing a whisper on the wind. The scent of a stray far from home... one that carries the pungent, rotting perfume of the feral. It is quite... poetic, don’t you think? The way decay masquerades as power?"

There was a confused silence from behind.

Vara clearly didn’t understand a word of his riddles. Vex was speaking in circles, referencing the dangerous beast standing right next to her, but to Vara, it just sounded like the Fox Shaman being his usual, annoying, philosophical self.

"My apologies for disturbing your... evening," Vex continued smoothly, not turning his head an inch. "We were just leaving."

He took a step forward, trying to usher Ren away.

"Stop," Vara commanded, her voice sharp.

Vex froze.

"You do not walk away from me, Fox," Vara sneered. Ren heard the rustle of fabric as Vara likely folded her arms. "And who is that... female? Hiding in your cloak?"

Ren didn’t recognize the voice instantly, but she put two and two together.

Vara.

The name ignited a spark in her chest that burned hotter than her fever. Rage boiled in her blood. This was the woman who had ruined everything.

’I am going to kill her,’ Ren thought, her hands balling into fists against Vex’s chest. ’Flu or no flu, I can take that tiger bitch. I have a frying pan and suppressed anger!’

She made a move to push away from Vex, to turn around and unleash her fury, but Vex’s arms tightened like steel bands, crushing her back against him.

That was when she felt it.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

Vex’s heart was hammering against her knuckles. It wasn’t the steady rhythm of a calm trickster; it was the rapid-fire beat of genuine fear.

Ren looked up at him. From this angle, she could see his jaw clenched so hard a muscle was jumping in his cheek. His lips were curved into a pleasant, playful smile, but his orange eyes were wide, focused, and darting around as if calculating a thousand different escape routes in a split second.

Ren frowned. ’Why is he so scared?’

She guessed Vex wasn’t a fighter; despite his muscular body, she reminded him more of a sexy doctor or a sexy professor, not that she thought he was sexy or anything. Ren thought he was a Beast King-level entity. Wasn’t he? Was Vara that scary? Was she that strong?

’Did becoming Queen give her superpowers?’ Ren wondered. ’Is she Wonder Tigerwoman now?’

Vex was scowling in irritation, his mind racing. ’Run? No. If I run, he’ll chase. Fight? No, I cannot protect Ren and fight that monster at the same time. Bluff. I have to bluff.’

’Why don’t we just run?’ Ren argued in her head. ’He is fast! He runs like a cheetah on caffeine!’

[System: Correction. He would have been fast if he wasn’t carrying a fainting cow, Host.]

Ren almost choked on a gasp.

’Excuse me?!’ she shrieked internally. ’Who are you calling a fainting cow?! I have the flu! And I am only bloated because of stress!’

Ren wasn’t aware of the danger lurking behind Vara. She didn’t know that standing just a few feet away was Carik, the Black Tiger from the Wastelands.

But Vex could smell him.

The massive, scarred beast was intensely sniffing the air, his nostrils flaring. He was locking onto something specific.

He was picking up Ren’s scent.

It was the pungent, overwhelming scent of Carik that was terrifying Vex. Vex knew that smell. It was the smell of a killer. A beast that had survived the hellscape of the Wastelands. Vex knew that if he ran, that beast would give chase instantly. And a Wasteland beast had heightened senses; he would hunt them down before dawn.

Then, a voice spoke.

It wasn’t Vara’s shrill tone. It was a rough, deep voice, heavy with menace.

"The female..." the voice rumbled. "She smells... strange. I have never smelled this scent before."

He paused, sniffing louder. "And she smells... weak."

Ren frowned against Vex’s chest.

’Weak?’ she thought indignantly. ’How does someone "smell" weak?’

She felt Vex’s body stiffen with tension. He was as rigid as a board.

"She is my mate," Vex lied, his voice dropping an octave, becoming protective and firm. "She is unwell. She is simply accompanying me, and she is getting cold. We must leave."

Vex prayed to whatever deities existed in this godforsaken world that they would buy it. But he knew Vara wouldn’t let him go easily.

He had spent years mocking her. He had taken advantage of her desperation and stupidity countless times. He had embarrassed her in front of clans. She was petty, vindictive, and she finally had the power to make him pay.

But Vex realized one crucial thing: They hadn’t realized yet that it was Ren he was hiding.

If Vara knew the "weak female" was Ren, she would have Carik tear them apart right here and now.

"Your... mate?" Vara let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Since when does the Fox Shaman take a mate? And such a frail thing, too."

Vara’s footsteps crunched on the dirt. She was coming closer.

"You are being rude, Vex," Vara chided, her voice dripping with venom. "You are talking to the Queen of the White Tiger Clan with your back turned."

The footsteps stopped just a few paces behind him.

"Turn around," Vara demanded, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Let me see this ’mate’ of yours. Or I will assume your disrespect is a declaration of war against the White Tiger Clan."