Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 85: The choice she made

Visha took in Heta’s appearance. Besides the change in smell, nothing much has changed. It could be seen that she was still living well after they left.

Heta being so close to the grotto was concerning. She had drunk the tea, but there was no guarantee she didn’t remember anything.

The four people stood there. The gap between them could not be bridged all of a sudden. The sun was going down, and Visha had wanted to stay in the cave for the night before going to the grotto.

"Heta?’ Visha whispered, taking a step forward.

Kael placed himself between Visha and Heta. "Don’t you dare call her name," he snarled. A dangerous growl rumbling in his throat.

Kaelen stood in front of Visha, taking the initiative to protect her. "You don’t speak to the priestess that way," Kaelen replied, his voice steady.

"Priestess?!" Heta and Kael exclaimed.

Their eyes drifted to Visha behind Kaelen. The disbelief in their eyes was clear.

"If you don’t mind, we should go in and talk. It’s getting to be dark," Visha said instead of answering.

Kael growled, his muscles tense as she stared at Visha. He didn’t want Visha and Heta to have anything to do with each other. Not after the way they abandoned her.

Heta put her hand on Kael’s back. "Let them come in," she said softly.

Kael looked incredulously at Heta, wondering why she would let the people who hurt her into their cave.

She gestured for Visha and Kaelen to come in. They walked past Kael, who was still wondering what was happening.

When they settled into the cave, Visha took out the jerky from her space, pretending she had taken it from the pack she had brought with her. She handed some to Heta for herself and Kael. Then she handed some to Kaelen.

She sat down to eat, not addressing the issue. She wanted to give herself some time to understand what their being here might mean. Unfortunately, Kael, who sat beside Heta, didn’t seem to want to give her any respite.

"Why are you here?" The venom laced in such simple words was hard to ignore.

Visha, whose eyes were downcast, looked up. "I don’t believe I need to report my whereabouts to you. Anyway, what I’m doing here has nothing to do with you."

"Is it about the secret you made Heta forget?" The question was sharp.

Laced with knowing. He knew there was a secret, but he wasn’t sure what it was. The fact that he didn’t know made Visha breathe a sigh of relief. She didn’t want anyone to know about the grotto. She felt more and more that there was a secret there she wasn’t privy to.

She didn’t notice anything at first. She thought the grotto was an ideal place to live. There was food, shelter, and water. If they needed clotheing they only needed to go hunting. After they left, the idea of keeping it secret clung to her.

They didn’t need to make Heta forget. They didn’t need to keep the grotto secret. She had already taken the species she wanted from the grotto. She could grow them at any time. If she found a place near the caldera to do it, they could all thrive. But something was telling her to keep her knowledge about the grotto to herself. Not allowing the knowledge of it to spread outside of their pack.

"What secret?" Visha asked lazily. She wouldn’t allow anyone to know anything.

"Don’t play with me!" Kael said, his anger rising. "You have a secret. The priest wasn’t able to get it out of Heta, so he expelled her from the tribe again. He asked the same question for days. But she couldn’t remember anything."

Visha’s eyes were wide with shock. She expected the Tiger tribe priest to ask questions. But she never thought they would kick Heta out for not knowing anything. What kind of place was the Tiger tribe?

She thought back to when Xeno and Uri used to tell her that the tribe cared for each other. You give back to the tribe, and it protects you. It seems that Heta had nothing to give upon return, so they threw her away again.

"It’s fine," Heta said. "Whatever it was I forgot must have been important. The priest and tribe leader were so adamant to get it, it was a good thing I don’t remember."

Kael turned his angry stare towards Heta. But the moment he saw her gaze fall on him, the expression melted away.

Visha looked between them. A smile couldn’t help finding its way to her face.

Kael was obviously someone who cared a great deal about Heta. Visha couldn’t help but wonder, if he cared so much about her, why didn’t they become partners in the first place?

Her mind drifted to Cato, who was back at the caldera. Her Heta was with a new partner, and Cato had no one. She suddenly felt the need to recruit a few young females for Cato.

Visha’s smile didn’t last long before Kael turned back to her. "Tell me what the secret is. I can tell the tribe and Heta and I can go back. Being without a tribe won’t be good for us. We won’t be able to survive."

Visha sneered, "I will not tell you anything. Heta made her own choices that day. She had the choice to stay with us, and she decided the Tiger tribe was more important to her. They could throw her away once; what was stopping them from throwing her away again? She understood this and still stayed."

"You were the ones who threw her away. Why would she stay after what happened?" Kael didn’t believe Heta would come back to the Tiger tribe on her own.

"If she remembered, you could still ask her, but she can’t. But I assure you, on my honour as a priestess, this was the choice she made herself. She chose to stay in the Tiger tribe." Her eyes flickered, "As for her memory loss, that was something the leaders and I decided. We didn’t trust the priest."

She decided to tell them the truth regarding Heta’s forgetting. She didn’t mind his anger. It didn’t impact her at all. She only wanted to let them know that they were aware that something like this might happen.

"What we didn’t account for was the fact that your tiger tribe," her eyes stayed on Kael when she said it, "would be so cold as to throw her away a second time. Even if she can’t remember anything, she is still a female, capable of carrying pups. She can choose another partner."

Visha gestured to Kael, "Just like she chose you."

Before Kael could speak, Heta stopped him. "I have no resentment for what I can’t remember. The way the priest treated me after you left is proof enough that my choice was wrong. You were right to do what you did."

The calm way Heta spoke told Visha she wasn’t the same person they left. She didn’t have the resentful gaze she used to look at her with. The light in her eyes when she looks at Kael is different from the look she used to give Cato.

Visha wondered if giving her the tea was a good thing. Despite being left behind by the Tiger tribe again, she was able to find inner peace and a good partner.

"How long have you been here?" She asked before she could allow herself to think too much.

"Seven suns," replied Heta.

"I want to ask if you are willing to come back with me."

The question was so abrupt that Heta didn’t know what to answer. She didn’t need to. Kael responded for her

"You’re not allowed to take my partner. She doesn’t want to go anywhere with you." Kael growled as he hugged Heta to his side.

"Then what if you come with us?" Visha leaned forward, her chin in her hand. "Both of you can come." She turned to Kaelen, "Would you be able to take all three?"

Kaelen hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Kael was still hugging Heta, but now he was looking at Visha as though she had grown a second head.

"You don’t need to answer now, take your time. You have until tomorrow."

With that, Visha went to another corner of the cave. Kaelen followed like a bodyguard.