The Beast Tamer's Awakening: Amaya and the White Tiger King-Chapter 7: WHISPERS OF POWER, WHISPERS OF BLOOD

Leo didn’t sleep.

Not for a single heartbeat.

He sat upright against the carved ice headboard, Amaya curled in the hollow of his body, her breath warm against his chest, her fingers tangled lightly in the fur lining his tunic. She slept deeply — exhaustion, shock, and the lingering weight of the Shadow Devourer’s corruption pulling her under.

But leo remained motionless.

Eyes open.

Every sense sharpened to a razor’s edge.

The palace was too quiet.

Too still.

Not the sleep of a kingdom at peace...

But the hush of beasts holding their breath.

Something had shifted tonight. A barrier had been broken. Someone had made a move.

And leo had responded with power he had not unleashed in years.

His claws flexed involuntarily at the thought.

He had lost control.

For a moment, a terrible, precious moment, his instincts had completely overridden his discipline. He had nearly destroyed an entire palace wing with one blast of aura.

And all because she screamed.

Because she hurt.

Because something dared lay claws on her.

Leo exhaled slowly, forcing the burn of instincts down. It didn’t fully retreat — not with her pressed against him, smelling of soft warmth and flickering core-light — but enough to think clearly.

Her breathing changed.

A small shift, the tiniest flutter.

His gaze snapped downward immediately.

Amaya stirred in his arms, eyelids trembling, her brow tightening in discomfort rather than fear. He gently loosened his grip, giving her room to move.

She inhaled sharply, her core pulsing once beneath her skin.

Leo’s heart lurched.

Then—

A cold, crystalline voice whispered inside Amaya’s mind.

He didn’t hear the words.

But he felt the pulse of it through the bond.

Her eyes flew open.

Leo leaned closer. "What is it?"

Amaya blinked, disoriented. The room came back into focus — the furs, his arms around her, the faint glow of frost along the walls.

"...The system," she whispered.

His jaw tightened. "What did it say?"

She swallowed.

"Something about... core damage. And recalibration."

He didn’t breathe for a beat.

"Did it hurt you?"

"No." She hesitated. "...But it sounded urgent."

Leo closed his eyes briefly. "You used too much energy when the creature touched you. Your core is unstable. And with my aura—"

"It stabilized," she finished, confused. "Why does that happen?"

Leo opened his eyes.

His gaze was sharp, glacial, and far too honest.

"Because our bond is no longer dormant."

Her breath hitched.

"What does that mean?"

His claws grazed the furs, barely held in check.

"It means," he said quietly, "you are not safe anywhere but near me."

She swallowed. "...That doesn’t sound like a bad thing."

His breath caught in his throat.

For a moment, leo forgot how to breathe entirely.

Then—

A sound vibrated through the palace halls.

A deep, resonant boom.

Not an explosion.

A summons.

Three beats. Long, drawn notes.

Leo’s expression darkened instantly.

"The Council," he muttered. "Of course they would call an emergency session."

"At this hour?" Amaya whispered.

"At any hour," leo said bitterly, "if it concerns me losing control."

He stood, gathering her carefully and setting her on the bedding. The moment her warmth left his chest, his instincts clawed up again like a storm.

Her core flickered with unease at the separation.

He felt that too.

He exhaled sharply. "Stay here."

She frowned. "leo, I’m not letting you go into that alone. They’ll twist everything. They already don’t trust me."

"They don’t trust anything they cannot control," leo corrected. "And the fact I tore a creature apart with my bare hands tonight will only make them more cautious."

"Or hostile," she murmured.

He turned toward her fully.

But what she saw in his eyes was not fear.

Not uncertainty.

Not worry.

Pure, unfiltered resolve.

"If they think they can use this to separate you from me," he growled, "they are mistaken."

Her heart skipped.

The bond shimmered. Soft. Warm. Dangerous.

Leo’s breath trembled — barely — but she felt it.

He reached out, brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek. "Amaya... they will try to turn this against you. Against us."

She leaned into his touch despite herself. "Then let me stand with you."

He stiffened.

His mind screamed no.

His instincts roared protect.

His heart whispered yes.

The conflict raged behind his eyes.

Finally, he sighed — a low, defeated sound.

"You are trouble," he murmured.

Her lips curved slightly. "So are you."

He almost smiled.

Almost.

Then his expression shifted, becoming serious again.

"You will stay beside me," he said. "Not behind me, not out of sight. At my side. Understood?"

Her pulse quickened. "Understood."

He lifted her chin gently with one clawed finger. "If any council member looks at you wrong, or speaks to you wrong—"

"Yes?" she breathed.

"I will break the table they’re sitting at."

She closed her eyes, exasperated and flustered all at once. "leo—"

"What?" His tone was perfectly innocent. "It’s a very large table."

Before she could scold him, movement flickered outside the chamber windows.

Multiple auras.

Strong ones.

Approaching fast.

Leo’s eyes narrowed. "They sent guards."

"Why?"

He growled low. "To escort us. And to ensure I don’t... lose control again."

She swallowed. "...But you weren’t out of control."

Leo’s gaze cut to her sharply.

"Yes," he said softly, "I was."

He opened the door before the guards could knock.

The corridor shivered with cold as his aura flared instinctively, pressing the beastmen into stiff bows.

"Lord leo," the captain said quickly, "the Council requests your presence. Immediately. And..."

His eyes flickered to Amaya, standing close behind leo.

"...they request the human girl as well."

Leo’s pupils narrowed.

"They request, do they?" he said coolly.

His tone made several guards stiffen.

"Very well," he said after a moment. "We will attend."

Amaya stepped forward, and leo’s hand immediately settled on the small of her back — firm, protective, unyielding.

The guards exchanged glances.

And Amaya saw something flicker across their expressions.

Fear.

Of her.

Of leo.

Of what happened tonight.

She bit her lip.

Leo noticed instantly.

"Pay them no mind," he said quietly. "They fear what they don’t understand. And they fear me more than anything else in this palace."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" she muttered.

"Yes," leo said, entirely serious.

She almost laughed.

Almost.

They descended the main staircase, the hallways lined with frost sculptures and moonstone lanterns. Beastmen guards stood at every corner, watching with muffled whispers as leo passed.

Some bowed.

Some stared.

Some looked away quickly, as if fearing his gaze.

And then...

As they neared the massive Council doors...

A cold, mechanical whisper filled Amaya’s mind.

[CORE RESIDUAL CORRUPTION: 21%]

[WARNING: EXPOSURE TO BEASTLORD AURA UNSTABLE]

[RECOMMENDED ACTION: REMAIN WITHIN TWO METERS OF TARGET "KAEL WHITETIGER"]

Amaya stumbled.

Leo caught her waist instantly. "What is it?"

She exhaled shakily. "The system said... I need to stay close to you."

His jaw clenched.

A dangerous, territorial sound rumbled in his chest.

"As you should," he growled softly.

Before she could speak—

The Council doors slammed open.

Twelve high-ranking beastmen sat at a curved crescent table, their auras pressing down like a physical weight.

Sharp eyes tracked Amaya.

Hostile.

Suspicious.

Hungry for answers.

Leo stepped in front of her immediately, his aura snapping outward in a violent gust.

Every council member flinched.

"Let’s make something very clear," leo said, voice cold enough to freeze bone.

"If any of you accuse her without evidence..."

His claws extended — long, deadly, gleaming ice-blue.

"...I will consider that an act of treason."

Silence.

A heavy, frightened silence.

The High Councilor cleared his throat weakly. "...Lord leo, we only require an explanation of the disturbance."

Leo bared his fangs.

"She was attacked," he said. "In my own chambers. By a summoned Shadow Devourer."

Shock rippled through the room.

"That is not possible—"

"Those creatures cannot—"

"Inside the palace?!"

"Was it truly a Devourer—"

"It was," leo snarled. "And someone here opened the way for it."

A hush fell again.

But this time, it was a guilty hush.

Amaya felt her core pulse nervously.

Leo stepped closer to the table, voice low and deadly.

"My question to the Council is simple."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Who among you wants the girl dead?"

Gasps broke out.

One councilor rose to his feet, outraged. "You accuse us—?!"

Leo didn’t let him finish.

The Beastlord slammed one hand onto the table.

Ice cracked. Wood splintered.

Council members jolted backward.

Leo’s aura exploded outward — a blizzard made of pure lethal intent.

"She is under my protection," he growled. "Any threat to her is a threat to me."

The councilor who had stood up swallowed hard. "We only wish to understand—"

"Then understand this," leo snapped, eyes glowing with feral silver.

"She stays with me. Every hour of every day. And if any of you think to use her, manipulate her, or test her—"

His claws buried into the table with a chilling crack.

"...I will end you."

Amaya’s pulse thundered.

The system whispered again in her mind:

[RESO-PROTOCOL: PARTIAL ACTIVATION]

[WARNING: TARGET "LEO" AURA OUTPUT 143% ABOVE NORMAL]

[USER MAY EXPERIENCE OVERLOAD OR BOND SPILL]

Her breath hitched.

Bond spill?

She didn’t have time to ask before the High Councilor spoke again, voice shaking but steady.

"We only fear the instability of her core," he said. "It could destroy the palace. Or worse."

"And I will keep it under control," leo said flatly.

"You?" another councilor blurted. "You lost control yourself tonight!"

Leo’s head turned slowly — terrifyingly — toward the speaker.

"I lost control," he repeated, voice dangerously soft, "because someone summoned a monster to kill the woman I swore to protect."

Silence again.

Heavy. Frightened.

Amaya stepped forward unexpectedly.

Leo stiffened — automatic instinct to pull her back — but she gently touched his arm.

His aura immediately calmed by half.

Every councilor noticed.

Amaya lifted her chin.

"I don’t want to be a threat to your kingdom," she said. "I don’t know why my core awakened. I don’t know who wants me dead. But I’m not your enemy."

"You are unknown," one councilor murmured. "Unknowns are dangerous."

Leo’s aura surged.

Amaya squeezed his forearm lightly.

It worked.

His power softened just enough.

She took a small breath and continued. "If you want answers, then help us find them. Because if someone can summon a Shadow Devourer... I’m not the only one at risk. All of you are."

The council exchanged looks.

The High Councilor slowly nodded.

"She is right." His voice steadied. "This threat is greater than any of us expected."

Leo folded his arms. "So. What will this council do?"

"Begin an internal investigation," the Councilor said. "Strengthen palace wards. And..."

His gaze flicked to Amaya. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"...assign her a guard."

Leo laughed.

A dark, humorless sound.

"A guard?" he repeated. "How unnecessary. She already has one."

He pulled her closer.

Firmly.

Possessively.

"I am her guard."

A few councilors paled.

"But, Lord leo—"

"Enough," he snapped.

Frost spread across the floor.

"This meeting is over."

And without waiting for permission, he grabbed Amaya’s hand and led her out.

The guards in the hallway scrambled out of the way.

As soon as the doors shut behind them, leo exhaled a long, controlled breath.

"Are you hurt?" he asked immediately.

She shook her head.

"Your core?"

"It feels... warm. Not painful."

He nodded but didn’t look relieved.

"leo?" she whispered.

He turned toward her fully.

His eyes were sharp.

Worried.

Still glowing faintly silver around the edges.

"You spoke well," he murmured. "But do not put yourself between me and them again."

"Why not?" she whispered.

"Because my instincts are already... strained." He exhaled. "If they had raised their aura at you, I would have torn the entire council apart."

Her stomach fluttered.

"leo..."

He stepped closer.

Too close.

Close enough she could see the faint crackle of light in his pupils.

The hallway was empty.

The palace silent.

His voice dropped to a low, intimate rumble.

"You should not make me feel this much."

Her breath trembled. "Feel what?"

His hand lifted, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear — slow, deliberate, almost reverent.

"This."

The bond pulsed, hot and immediate.

Her knees nearly buckled.

Then—

A sudden breeze swept through the corridor.

Ice stirred.

Leo stiffened, turning sharply.

A shadow detached itself from the far wall.

Not a creature.

A person.

A woman.

Tall, graceful, with long silver hair and horned markings across her temples — a Snow Serpent clan beastwoman.

Her eyes glittered with sharp intelligence.

And something darker.

"Lord leo," she said smoothly. "Apologies for intruding."

Leo’s hand immediately moved in front of Amaya.

"Lady Seris," he said coldly. "You should not be here."

She smiled — slow, elegant, dangerous.

"But I was summoned by the Council," she murmured. "As the palace’s foremost expert on corrupted magic."

Her eyes slid to Amaya.

Lingering.

Assessing.

Hungry in a way that had nothing to do with desire.

"And I hear," Seris purred, "that the human girl survived her first attack."

Leo’s aura sharpened dangerously.

"Lady Seris," he warned, claws emerging.

But Seris only smiled wider.

"Oh, wonderful. Then this will be very... interesting."

Amaya’s core pulsed uneasily.

Leo felt it.

His grip on her waist tightened.

Too tightly.

Seris tilted her head, eyes gleaming.

"My Lord. I think it’s time," she said softly, "that we test the human’s core."

Leo went still.

Amaya’s breath caught.

And the system whispered:

[DANGER: UNKNOWN ENTITY SEEKING CORE ACCESS]

[RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT ALLOW CONTACT]

[USER STATUS: THREAT LEVEL RISING]

Leo growled.

"Over my dead body."

Seris smiled.

"Oh," she whispered, "I do hope it won’t come to that."

---

To be continued...