Chapter 184: The Mother’s Awakening And The Distraction!

Neve snapped out of his confused thoughts as he suddenly remembered Maren. As soon as the woman spoke, he was supposed to rush to summon Maren, but for some reason... He didn’t remember.

Also, he was supposed to be happy that Maren’s mother was getting better so quickly. This meant Neve could leave the outcast territory soon. This meant he could finally go home.

"Oh, I’ll go call him," Popi said, already moving toward the door.

But Neve held up his hand to stop her.

"No, please help her clean up," Neve said to Popi, since they were both females and it would be more appropriate. "I’m sure Maren would want to see his mother looking beautiful and healthy when he arrives. Make her feel loved and cared for."

"Ah, right," Popi said, nodding in understanding. "That makes sense. I’ll help her get cleaned up and comfortable."

The woman on the bed smiled as she managed to blink her eyes open a bit more.

"Thank you son," she said weakly, her voice hoarse from disuse.

Neve just smiled at her and then burst out of the hut, walking quickly toward the shark territory.

He got closer to the water and saw something strange. The sharks were swimming in the water, playing and having fun. They were jumping and splashing around like they did not have a care in the world.

Neve furrowed his brows. It was never like this whenever he came here to watch Maren a few days ago. The sharks mostly hid under water, staying out of sight. They were cautious and nervous.

"Must it be because Zyreth is dead?" Neve asked himself, wondering what had changed so dramatically.

"Yes, yes," he heard a voice behind him and flinched hard.

He looked behind and saw Skarr in Zyreth’s body, and Sable was standing next to him.

Neve’s eyes lingered on Sable as he remembered how the fox had run away last night when they mentioned bonding and mates. Neve watched as Sable took his eyes away from Neve’s gaze, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

Even though Sable looked and acted like he did not want anything to do with Neve, his favorability meter was still at thirty-five percent. It had not increased or decreased.

Neve thought it would have changed, but he was wrong.

’I guess I should just give him enough time,’ Neve thought to himself, feeling a mix of guilt and resignation. ’Sable, I’m sorry that I might have to do this, even if I’m using you. Even if the system is forcing you to be my mate.’

He looked at Skarr instead.

"What are you doing here?" Neve asked.

"Oh, Skarr! You’re here already!" a shark beastman rushed over to Skarr and the others even started chanting his name loudly.

"What’s happening?" Neve asked, confused by the sudden attention. "When did you turn into a celebrity?"

Skarr furrowed his brows.

"Celebrity? What is that?" he asked, clearly not understanding the modern term.

Neve blinked as he immediately corrected himself.

"I mean popular. You’re suddenly famous with these people. How is the poison in the mist not affecting you?"

"Oh. I heard the mist had vanished and the poison was gotten rid of," Skarr explained matter-of-factly. "They only kept the poison mist before because that was the only way to keep Zyreth away. Even if he’s a snake beastman, he’s not immune to all kinds of poison."

He pointed at the chanting beastmen.

"And what am I doing here?" he asked, grinning. "I wasn’t able to learn a lot of things when I was a beastman in the red panda tribe. But now that I’ve gotten a second chance and a great body, I thought I’d try new things. For example, swimming."

Neve furrowed his brows. He wanted to tell Skarr it was a bad idea since it was his first time swimming in this body. But he did not want to spoil his excitement. Also, since Skarr now had a snake body, he would probably be fine. Snakes were natural swimmers.

"I’m sure you’ll be fine," Neve said, thinking about what he knew from his zoology education. "After all, snakes are aquatic predators. They’re naturally good swimmers. Their bodies are designed for moving through water. Their scales reduce friction and their muscles are built for propulsion through liquid. You’ll probably be a natural at it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard enough even if I didn’t understand most of them," Skarr said, already walking away before Neve could start another lecture. "But thank you."

He was already heading toward the water with his new snake body.

"What about you?" Skarr called back, walking toward the water. "Why are you here?"

Neve gasped and rushed to the water. He looked at one of the shark beastmen standing nearby.

"Summon your king immediately!" Neve commanded.

"Huh? It’s him again!" one of the sharks complained, clearly recognizing Neve from before.

Neve groaned at the lack of respect.

"Tell him his mother has woken up," Neve said urgently. "His mother is conscious and asking for him."

Everyone gasped loudly when they heard the news. The revelation spread like wildfire through the shark tribe.

As if Maren sensed Neve’s presence on his territory, he did not even need anyone to summon him. He came up out of the water himself and walked toward Neve.

As soon as he reached where Neve was standing, he gripped Neve’s shoulder hard.

"Did you just say my mother has woken up?" Maren asked, his voice filled with emotion and urgency. "She’s actually conscious?"

"Yes," Neve winced, shoving his body away from Maren’s intense grip. "She’s asking for you. She wants to see you."

"Oh! Thank goodness!" Maren clapped his hand over his face like he was on the verge of tears.

Neve almost rolled his eyes because his arm was hurting from the grip. He didn’t understand why these beastmen were just unable to control their strength in everything they do, including in bed.

Everyone around them watched, already celebrating the good news.

To the other sharks, it looked like Maren was happy simply because his mother had finally woken up after so many years of unconsciousness. And that was true. But there was more to it than that.

Neve could tell the difference from where he stood. Maren was happy because his mother was alive, yes. But he was also happy because he was about to complete his second mission from the system. The mission to save his mother was almost done.

"So, let’s go," Neve said, turning to head back to the hut.

"Wait!" Maren said suddenly.

Before Neve could react, Maren leaned closer. He lowered his head and moved toward Neve’s ear. Neve froze as soon as Maren’s cold lips brushed the shell of his ear.

His cheeks flushed red as he snapped his head up, pulling away from Maren.

He saw Sable standing at the water’s edge, looking at them with a mixture of anger and jealousy in his eyes. The fox’s fists were clenched. His entire body was tense.

As soon as their eyes met, Sable looked away, turning his face toward the water.

"Do you think she’ll be able to know I’m not her son?" Maren asked in a low whisper, his concern evident.

"Oh! Don’t worry about that," Neve said, reassuring him. "Ten years is a lot of time for someone to change. People change so much over a decade. I’m sure she’ll understand if you use that excuse. You can tell her you’ve aged, changed, grown. Your voice might be different. Your mannerisms might be different. Ten years is enough time for anyone to transform completely."

Maren nodded, seeming satisfied with the answer.

"You’re smart Neve," Maren said, a small smile playing at his lips. "You’re a lifesaver. Thank you for everything."

He pulled back from Neve.

"I’ll come visit you later regarding the mark," he said. "We still need to complete that. But first, let me see my mother."

He rushed toward the hut without waiting for a response, moving faster than Neve had ever seen him move.

Neve was not able to say anything except watching him leave. He smiled and folded his hands together.

"I’m sure he’s just happy overall because she’s alive," Neve said to himself, trying to rationalize the sudden attraction he was feeling. "That’s all it is. He’s happy about his mother. That’s normal."

He touched his head, feeling confused about his own emotions.

"But why am I suddenly so easily distracted by things?" he asked himself. "First it was related to Maren and now... it’s Maren again. I keep forgetting about him. I keep forgetting the things I’m supposed to do. Why the hell is this happening?"

He rubbed his hand over his stomach, feeling the cubs moving inside him.

"This isn’t one of the symptoms, right?" he muttered to himself, wondering if his pregnancy hormones were making him more forgetful. "Is this a pregnancy thing? Am I going to be like this the entire time? Just randomly attracted to and distracted by my mates?"