Beastmen Love-Chapter 190: A King With No Crown

After the battle for the future of the dinosaurs was over, things became different. Bono sent Troy, Roy, and Pete to lead some warriors to go to Dark Moon City to clean it and rebuild it the way it should be, changing its name to Full Moon City. However, Bono didn’t want to move there and ordered the destruction of the castle to make a plantation for medicines and trees with fruits for the people who lived there.

Daern’s Tribe also changed its name. Yuki helped Bono choose it, calling it Goddess’ Gem.

"I love it. Thank you, Yuki. I think it’s perfect." Bono says, passing his hand on Yuki’s head.

"Goddess’ Gem? My gem?" Astri asks.

"Of course, mommy! Duh!" Yuki answers.

"Duh!" Bono mimics Yuki, making Yuki and Astri giggles.

"Why not The King’s Gem? Or Bono’s Gem? I didn’t do anything besides coaching him a little bit." Astri asks.

"You did everything and more. Besides, I’m a different King. I don’t need a castle, and I do everything for my people and..for the Goddess." Bono answers.

"Hum... Fawthers!! Bono wants to become a daddy too!" Yuki giggles, running to the table where Astri’s other spouses were.

They look at Bono with deadly glares, making Bono laugh.

"Don’t look at me that way. I won’t be her spouse. I cannot be. Not now." Bono says.

"Not now?" They ask in unison.

"I heard once that some trees need to grow in a pot before going to their definite place." Bono answers, then looks at Astri, smiling.

Astri smiles too, thinking that he’s very much like Tyr and Koa, wanting to prove themselves first by doing what they need to do for their people and then following their heart.

"Hey! Only we can be romantic!" Dieg says, standing up.

"I could never let you be her spouse. You’re too big!" Kangki says, appearing from nowhere in front of Bono and pushing him away from Astri.

"I won’t be pursuing her now. But I will someday, and it’s not your decision to make." Bono says.

Kangki’s eyes go dark, angry, then Astri pulls his arm, calming him down.

"There. There. Bono explained his motives. Peace. Peace." Astri says.

"Will you accept him?" Kangki asks.

"Well, who knows? He’s a good male, right?"

Her answer was like a frozen stake on their ego as males.

"His thing is bigger than ours!" Dieg whines.

"Why were you measuring his thing? Ugh! I don’t care. I won’t be repeating myself. Let me eat, and if I hear the word ’thing’ again, you will all sleep outside." Astri says, then walks to the table to eat.

Bono smiles, going to sit too, but is so happy to know that Astri didn’t reject him. He knows she didn’t accept him yet, but he has time to conquer her. Once he feels it’s time.

——

After 20 more days, the Goddess’ Gem and Full Moon City are growing better and prosperously. People are happily living in peace with each other. Everyone there knows who Astri is now, and they’re now grateful for existence, and just because of that, the energies are more balanced, too.

Bono knows it’s almost time for Astri to go back to United Tribes, but he wants to give her something since she gave him the spear. So he makes her a spear too, but at the end of it the blade is made with one of his hundreds of teeth. As a dinosaur, his teeth can fall but will grow back. He spent some nights carving the wood of the spear with images of dinosaurs and geometric graphics.

On their last night, the tribe makes a farewell feast for Astri and her group. Astri makes sure to play with the children of the tribe a lot. There aren’t many, but she wants to give them energy they will want to copy on their own, because they’re the future.

Astri’s spouses have mixed feelings watching her playing with her children and the children of the tribe at the center of the tribe, because so many unmated males are watching her with so much love in their eyes that is making them angry, but they’re also looking at her so in love because they’re watching her just being Astri.

As the children are playing Duck, Duck, Goose, Otto sits on Bono’s side.

"Have you finished your gift to her?" Otto asks.

"I did. I’ll give it to her tonight."

"I want to give her something, too. Zin taught me to sew straw, so I made her a basket nest for her to carry Albus. He scratches her sometimes with his claws."

"That’s amazing. I didn’t know that. I thought he was teaching you medicine mostly. She will love it."

"I hope so."

"I think we need to give it to her together, so things don’t get awkward and I don’t lose my control." Bono says, and Otto laughs.

It’s not a secret anymore, and almost everyone knows about Bono’s feelings for Astri. The tribe members feel even more honored to have him as King because he sacrificed his own happiness for them.

When Astri sits to rest a little and take some water, Bono and Otto go to her and ask to talk to her alone. Astri follows them, and then Pete, Troy, Roy, Caris, and Carist follow them too because they also wanted to give her gifts.

Pete gave her a flower carved on a bone, so it lives forever. Troy gives her a hairpin made of bone, too. Roy made her a new set of knives made of dinosaur teeth for her to keep on cooking delicious food. Caris gave her a new jacket for the winter, and Carist gave her two new sets of clothes. The clothes have details that only they know how to make, with flowers and geometric shapes sewn on them. Otto gives her the nest basket, and she’s very happy with all those gifts. She hugs each one of them.

"I don’t even know what to say. Thank you. Aw! You will make me cry!" She says, cleaning her wet eyes.

"Don’t cry.."

"It’s not that I’m sad. Actually, I’m sad because I’ll miss you, but I’m also happy. I loved the gifts." She says, cleaning her face and trying to contain the tears.

They smile, happy to know she will miss them, but also sad because they will miss her too. She looks at Bono, and he shows her the spear. She takes it and looks at the details he carved on it.

"It’s not as good as the one you gave me. The blade is made with my tooth. I know that you don’t need to think differently, because you already act like that normally. So this spear is just.. For you to remember that there are people who love you here." He tells her.

She smiles and nods. He’s shocked at first when she jumps up and hugs his neck.

"Thank you... It’s perfect. I love it." She says, hugging him tightly.

He smiles and hugs her back, wanting to fill his nose with her scent and don’t ever let it fade away, and also feeling how good it is to feel her in his arms.

His heart came to his mouth when she kissed his jaw, so he held on a tight leash the wish he had to kiss her lips. He knows that feeling her lips once will be enough for him to give up on everything. He never said his feelings to her directly, he doesn’t know if she will ever accept him either, he just knows that he will love her independently of her answer.

"I have a gift for you, too. Actually, all of us have. Follow me." She tells them.

They have brought her to the house she was using there, so she brings them to behind the house, and that’s when they see something big hidden under a big skin blanket.

"I asked Cyprian to do this. He’s amazing with statues. I asked them to choose the shape of it, and they insisted on being this one." She says, then walks to it and pulls the skin blanket, showing a big and beautiful statue of herself. "I didn’t ask for it. They said you would like it more if it were like this." She shyly says.

They look at the statue of her, perfectly made. They can even see the details of her smile and kind eyes.

"You will be using this house as yours too after we leave. So I thought this place was the best one. I inserted my energy there. Whenever you want to talk to me or anyone, you can simply talk to this statue, and I’ll hear you wherever I am. Even if I’m asleep. It’s a direct way to contact me, in other words." She explains.

They’re looking at it, even more impressed, and they’re so grateful to have it.

"Thank you... We will protect it as it’s the Goddess’ Gem itself." Bono says, looking at the statue like he fell in love with her, too.

"If anyone tries to break it, they will feel... well, a lot of pain. Nature will react and probably attack back. So it would be good to tell females who might still be angry with me." She says, and they chuckle, knowing she’s talking about Lina.

"Are you saying that if we talk to this statue, you will hear us? I’ll talk to you all the time!" Caris happily says, hugging the statue.

"You will be disturbing her all the time, Caris?" Otto asks.

"Shut up, old man! Of course not." Carist spits back.

"You will hold your brother then, right?"

"Aw.. She’s the only one who understands our artistic side better." Caris whines.

They laugh together. Astri is sure that they will be fine and that the Kingdom of Dinosaurs will prosper because of them.

On the day, Astri and her group prepared the carriages and were ready to go back home. They organized everything, and then they started to say their goodbyes. The guards and Astri’s spouses made friends there, so it’s a moment of happiness but also sadness.

Kangki and Claud create together a portal to the United Tribes, making everyone amazed. They can see a big castle and a garden on the other side.

"Home!" The children are the first ones to say and run to the portal. Everyone passed the portal, bringing the carriages. Astri, Claud, and Kangki are the last ones to pass. She looks at Bono holding his staff, then smiles, also with her staff in her hands.

"Good luck, Bono. King of Dinosaurs, who wears no crown, but is loved by all." She says.

"Thank you for everything, Goddess of Nature." He says, also smiling, even though his heart is crying, wanting her to stay.

Astri, Claud, and Kangki pass the portal. She gives them a last smile and blinks an eye.

"I’ll always be with you. Don’t forget."

Otto cleans his eyes, he couldn’t hold his own tears. Astri waves at them, and they watch the portal closing, and they’re happy the last thing they saw was her smile.