Felicity's Beast World Apocalypse-Chapter 85: Disbelief

The camp did not settle quietly. It settled like two storms deciding to share the same horizon.

Snow Team’s fire burned strong and steady between the broken brick shells of two storefronts. Meat sizzled over iron racks that Ivan had pulled from Victor’s space without ceremony. Vegetables roasted in foil, fragrant with dried herbs that Ash had insisted on keeping months ago. Fruit sat sliced and bright in a shallow metal tray, juice glistening in firelight like something from a different world.

Across the open stretch of cracked pavement, Emma’s group kept a smaller flame that struggled against the wind. Their food was hard and dry, the kind that scraped against teeth and left no warmth in the belly. Dented cans. Stale ration bars. Old jerky that snapped instead of bent.

The contrast was not subtle.

It was not accidental.

Shadow stood near the edge of Snow Team’s firelight under the pretense of scanning the dark. Draco’s massive frame eventually followed and settled into a quiet, watchful stance that felt less like coincidence and more like gravity pulling him closer.

Josh did not like that.

He sat with his back straight, chewing old meat with visible irritation. Robert leaned back on his palms and gnawed on something that looked more like a twig than food, expression flat and unreadable.

Emma sat between them, small and warm and carefully composed. The firelight softened her features and made her violet eyes gleam gently whenever they lifted toward Felicity.

Felicity was sitting cross-legged in her red dress, sleeves pushed up, handing Luna a piece of roasted carrot and Frost a slice of apple as if they were at a picnic and not in a gutted town with zombies piled in the street.

"You’re spoiling them," Emma said gently.

Felicity laughed softly. "They deserve it."

Emma’s smile deepened. "You spoil everyone."

Felicity blinked and shook her head. "No I don’t."

Victor watched her.

Ivan sliced fruit with steady precision at her side. Damien leaned behind her, tail curled loosely along her back. Voss’s thigh brushed her hip in a quiet statement that no one else missed.

Shadow watched the entire exchange without speaking.

Draco’s dark eyes lingered on Felicity longer than he intended before he looked away.

Felicity’s gaze landed on the empty plates scattered across the ground remnants of sauce and crumbs the only evidence of their meal.

She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet, the wooden legs scraping against the floor. Victor’s amber eyes tracked her movement immediately, his massive frame tensing as if preparing to follow. His deep voice rumbled her name like a warning. Felicity adjusted her dress "I’ll be right back," she said, stepping away.

She walked straight to Shadow first, red dress catching the light as she moved.

"You’re not eating," she said simply.

Shadow’s gaze sharpened, then softened just a fraction.

"I am."

She held out a cloth bundle.

Steam drifted from it in thin white curls.

Roasted meat and vegetables.

Hot.

Real.

"You don’t owe us," Shadow said quietly.

"I’m not paying a debt," she replied.

Draco stepped forward a fraction when she turned toward him with another portion.

"For you too."

Draco’s jaw tightened slightly.

"You don’t know us."

"You’re hungry," she answered.

There was no accusation in it.

No calculation.

Just fact.

Shadow took the plate.

Draco followed.

Marx leaned back on one palm and grinned lazily.

"She does that," he said to Shadow.

Shadow glanced at him.

"Feeds people."

Shadow nodded once.

Sarge crossed his arms. "It’s reckless."

Shadow looked at him steadily. "No."

Sarge’s eyes narrowed. "You don’t know her."

Shadow’s gaze drifted back to Felicity. "I know enough."

Draco exhaled slowly. "She gives without asking."

Marx’s grin sharpened. "That’s how she traps you."

Shadow’s brow lifted slightly.

Marx laughed. "Relax. I’m kidding."

Sarge muttered, "He’s not."

Across the way, Josh’s eyes tracked the exchange, irritation creeping into his posture.

Emma’s gaze flickered toward the movement, her eyes catching the subtle shift. Her lips remained pressed together in silence, though her fingers tightened around her fork.

She reached forward and nudged her plate across the rough stone surface, moving it several inches away from the center of the camp where flames cast an orange glow. The distance was calculated not so far as to seem deliberate, but far enough that the shadows partially obscured the food. Felicity observed the careful positioning of the plate, noting how the firelight barely illuminated the untouched portion. Without conscious decision, she pushed herself up from her seated position, legs straightening as she rose to her full height.

Victor’s jaw flexed.

Damien’s tail stilled.

Ivan’s knife paused mid slice.

Voss’s gaze darkened slightly but he said nothing.

Felicity stepped toward Emma and reached into her space.

Warmth spilled out like a hidden hearth opening.

Another plate.

Fresh.

Steaming.

Emma blinked up at her.

"That’s yours," she murmured.

"It’s mine to give."

Emma hesitated long enough to make it look reluctant.

"You don’t have to."

"I want to."

Their fingers brushed.

Victor noticed.

Damien noticed.

Ivan noticed.

Voss noticed.

Shadow noticed.

Draco noticed.

Emma’s ears flicked once.

Josh’s jaw tightened visibly.

Robert bit down on the twig and snapped it in half with a dry crack.

Snow Team’s fire remained steady and abundant.

Emma’s side now held a single plate of warmth in contrast to the rest of their cold rations.

Marx leaned toward Shadow with a lazy grin.

"So," Marx said lightly. "Not interested in Emma."

Shadow’s gaze shifted to him.

"Not our type," Shadow said evenly. Draco nodded once.

Marx’s grin widened slowly.

"Not your type," he repeated. "What is your type then."

Shadow did not answer immediately.

His eyes flicked once to Felicity.

Then away.

Draco’s gaze did the same.

Marx barked out a laugh.

"Oh, that’s unfortunate."

Sarge smirked faintly. "Join the queue."

Legend, who had been sitting slightly behind the line of Snow Team sharpening a blade with slow strokes, glanced up once.

"Good luck," he said dryly.

He went back to sharpening.

Marx clapped Shadow on the shoulder. "You heard the man."

Shadow did not smile.

Draco’s jaw tightened slightly.

Emma’s ears twitched forward, then flattened against her skull before perking up again a visible war between curiosity and caution.

She was still smiling at Felicity, teeth half bared in that ambiguous way that could mean either friendship or warning.

Her gaze darted between Victor’s possessive stance and Felicity’s oblivious kindness, calculating odds, weighing loyalties, missing nothing while revealing nothing.

Sam leaned back on his palms and studied Shadow openly. "You two aren’t bonded to her," Sam said casually.

"No," Draco replied.

"And you’re not into the Light either."

Shadow’s expression remained calm. "We just heard about it."

Draco glanced toward Marx and said, low and direct, "She only just heard about the Light. She’s not even into it."

The statement sliced through the firelight, a blade Emma both wanted and feared.

She flinched a heavy, reluctant movement. Her shoulders hunched forward then back, as if her body couldn’t decide whether to collapse inward or stand defiant.

It was small.

Quick.

But unmistakably there, this betrayal of her carefully constructed neutrality.

Felicity did not notice, She was laughing softly at something Emma had said about missing hair masks.

Josh noticed the flinch.

He growled low in his throat.

Robert snapped another twig.

Marx leaned toward Draco with a smirk. "Careful. You’re going to make her cry."

Draco did not look away from the fire. "Truth is not cruelty."

Sarge nodded faintly.

Pope frowned at the exchange but said nothing.

Emma’s jaw unclenched first, then her shoulders dropped from around her ears.

The corners of her mouth twitched upward, crinkling the skin beside her eyes into familiar tributaries. Her spine, once rigid as rebar, curved like a question mark as she shifted her chunky combat boots across the concrete floor, the heavy rubber soles scraping closer to where Felicity stood.

"I miss my old moisturizer," she said gently. "I swear my skin has never been the same."

Felicity lit up immediately.

"Oh my god, same. I miss hair appointments so much. And nails."

Emma laughed softly.

"I miss nail polish. I miss baths."

"I miss shaving without feeling like something is about to eat me," Felicity added.

Behind them, Snow Team filed it away without a word.

Victor’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Damien’s tail flicked once.

Ivan’s eyes lowered thoughtfully.

Voss remained silent but attentive.

Shadow watched Felicity with a different expression now.

Not hunger.

Not desire.

Something softer.

Draco’s massive shoulders relaxed just slightly.

"She really is like that all the time," Sam said to Shadow quietly.

Shadow nodded once.

"She doesn’t measure," Draco said.

Legend grinned. "That’s the problem."

Ash muttered, "That’s the miracle."

Pope added another stone to the shrine.

Ash nodded approvingly.

Kai bowed his head briefly.

Sarge did not.

Josh’s posture remained stiff.

Emma’s laughter blended easily with Felicity’s.

She leaned in slightly too close at one point.

Victor noticed.

Voss noticed.

Ivan’s jaw tightened faintly.

Damien’s tail curled possessively around Felicity’s back.

Emma’s violet eyes flicked once to Victor, then to Damien, then to Ivan.

She did not linger long enough to be obvious, But Snow Team felt it.

The air shifted again as night deepened Felicity yawned softly and leaned back against Damien’s chest.

Emma’s gaze followed the movement.

Victor rose.

Damien rose with him.

Ivan stood smoothly.

Voss was already moving.

Without discussion, Victor held out his hand to Felicity.

"Come."

She blinked sleepily. "Already."

Damien’s voice was low. "You need rest."

Emma smiled softly. "Goodnight."

Felicity smiled back.

Victor’s hand tightened slightly at her waist as he guided her toward the side building they had cleared earlier.

Snow Team’s eyes tracked them openly now.

Shadow’s posture shifted slightly.

Draco’s gaze sharpened.

As they reached the doorway, Damien leaned close to Felicity’s ear and murmured something only she heard.

Her breath hitched.

Victor’s hand slid lower along her waist, firm, claiming.

She made a soft sound before she could stop herself.

A soft squeak like a mouse followed quickly by a moan.

But in the quiet of the camp, it carried.

Emma went completely still.

Her face flushed dark Her violet eyes flicked toward Ivan and Voss instinctively.

Ivan did not look at her.

Voss did not look at her.

But she could feel the desire radiating from them toward Felicity like heat from the fire.

Snow Team collectively froze.

Marx coughed sharply.

Sarge looked away.

Sam’s mouth fell open slightly.

Pope blinked rapidly.

Shadow’s eyes widened for the first time that night.

Draco stared openly.

Victor did not look back.

Damien’s tail slid possessively along Felicity’s thigh as she vanished into Victor’s space.

The air shifted.

Closed.

Emma swallowed.

Josh’s jaw clenched hard enough to creak.

Robert snapped the remainder of his twig.

Snow Team stood in the firelight, faces flushed for different reasons.

Shadow exhaled slowly.

Draco rubbed the back of his neck once.

Marx leaned back and let out a low whistle.

"Well," he muttered.

Sarge shot him a look.

Shadow stared at the space where Felicity had disappeared.

Draco’s expression was unreadable.

Emma’s violet eyes darkened for just a second before she smoothed her expression back into warmth. The shrine crackled softly in the firelight.

Felicity was pulled fully into the circle of her husbands while the rest of the camp sat in stunned silence, heat and jealousy and disbelief lingering heavy in the air.