Free Web NovelChapter 15: Episode 015: An Urgent Meeting.
"We are not saying that, Tee." Gianna softened her tone. She hugged Tyara tight.
Tyara just gave Gianna the dirtiest look possible.
No more fighting, they sat back down in the wooden pavilion. The morning breeze was cool, but the mood was terrible.
Iris stepped out of her seat and crossed her arms. "She is right, Tyara. Tiger men are flirtatious at heart. They clearly do not respect you because you have not set boundaries. You have not stood your ground as Queen."
Tyara looked away. She picked up a grape and crushed it between her fingers.
"Last time you complained that you saw one with Sienna," Iris continued calmly. "And now you walked into one with another tiger female. They clearly do not respect you."
Tyara raised her hand in the air to cut her off.
Iris sighed heavily. "Speak, Tyara."
Tyara cleared her throat. She started talking fast. It was not her fault at all. The heat season made everyone crazy. The males were losing their minds. Sienna was always getting into her business and trying to undermine her authority. She just wanted to cure the heat season, so she wouldn’t feel that pain and discomfort any more.
Tanith took a slow sip of her tea. Her expression was completely blank. "Get rid of her."
Tyara stammered. She looked at the basilisk queen like Tanith had grown a second head. "No, can’t do, ma’am."
Iris smiled gently and stepped around the table. "Tyara, it is okay. Really. It is really okay. Do you need to cry?"
Tyara looked at Gianna. She looked at Iris. Her tough, defensive expression completely broke into pieces. Her shoulders dropped. She ran right into Iris’s arms exactly like she always did when they were younger.
"Aww, there there, baby," Iris cooed. She rubbed Tyara’s back soothingly. "Do not worry. Your man is going to come very soon. Right, Tanith?"
Tanith snapped her head up. The teacup clattered against the saucer. "I did not say anything."
Tyara sniffed loudly. Her bottom lip wobbled hard. She looked like she was going to cry even harder now. She pulled back from Iris’s shoulder.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Tyara asked. "Tanith, what does Iris mean?"
Tanith rolled her eyes. She leaned back in her heavy wooden chair while rubbing the back of her neck to ease the growing ache there. She did not want to deal with crying females today. She had a kingdom to run.
She beckoned for one of her personal guards standing quietly by the pavilion steps.
"Call her to the Palace," Tanith ordered.
***
Caius woke up slowly as the morning light filtered brightly through the small window of the wooden cabin.
He looked down. Rue was curled tightly into his chest. She was wearing his black silk shirt. It swallowed her completely. Her silver hair was tangled in a messy halo across his arm, and it made him suck a sharp breath in.
She looked incredibly pretty.
Blinded by her beauty, he had no choice but to snap his head up and stare at the wooden ceiling planks. He cursed himself thoroughly. He had absolutely zero self-control.
He saw her standing in the hallway last night, and his brain just snapped in half thinking about the kiss and how delicious she was looking right then in front of him. The rational part of him vanished. Now she looked totally ravaged in his arms. Her pale skin was flushed bright pink. She had dark bite marks on her neck and shoulders.
He still could not fully believe she was having his child.
Pictures flashed quickly in his mind. A tiny white rabbit hopping around the wooden cabin. A little girl with silver hair and bright pink eyes. A miniature version of Rue running through the grass. His heart started racing at a frantic rhythm just thinking about it. He pulled Rue slightly closer to his body.
He was in love with her.
He chuckled quietly into the silent room. Him. Caius. The ruthless Left General of the Swamps. The monster everyone feared. He was completely in love with a tiny, angry rabbit.
Then his smile faded into nothing.
He remembered the cold way she looked at him before they went to the market. She told him she belonged to him. She said it like a business transaction. Like a trade. She did not want him. She was just fulfilling a duty to survive.
He reached out to brush a stray strand of silver hair out of her face.
Rue shifted. Her pink eyes fluttered open.
Caius panicked. He immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be fast asleep. He kept his breathing slow, deep, and perfectly even. He did not move a single muscle.
Rue blinked at the bright sunlight. Her entire body felt like a bruised peach. Her muscles ached in places she did not know she had muscles. She turned her head slightly against the pillow and looked at the man sleeping next to her.
His face was completely unfair. His sharp jaw, his thick black hair, his smooth skin. He looked like a dark god resting in her bed.
Now I know why my body gave in, He is objectively too hot. My biology never stood a chance against that face.
Caius smiled. He could not hide it. He heard that thought perfectly clear through the mate bond. He slowly opened his golden eyes.
Rue froze. Her heart almost stopped beating entirely.
"Good morning," Caius muttered. His voice sounds like rough gravel.
Rue opened her mouth. No sound came out. She was completely caught staring. She just looked at him like a trapped animal in the headlights.
Caius leaned in and pressed a soft, warm kiss to her flushed cheek, giggling at her reaction. It was exactly what he wanted.
"I am going to prepare breakfast," he whispered.
He slipped out of the bed smoothly and left the room before she could even form a single coherent word.
Rue pressed a small hand to her cheek. The skin was burning hot under her palm. She watched the empty doorway for a full minute, trying to compose herself.
Why didn’t you tell me about his legs?
[Snake beastmen can shift into their human form.]
You didn’t tell me.
[I just told you.]
Rue rubbed her temples. She could feel a massive headache building behind her eyes. She pulled the thick fur blanket all the way up to her chin. She began to mentally beat herself up. She completely lost it last night. She begged him. She arched into his hands. She screamed...
Why didn’t you stop me? she flushed pink. You gave me a heat timer. It wasn’t at zero. You should have intervened.
[A machine cannot do anything in matters of love.]
Rue frowned. She glared at the ceiling.
I am not in love.
[Your heart signals say otherwise.]
It is just lust, Rue corrected flatly. Desire that turned into lust. It is basic animal biology. Do not make it weird.
[...]
The system did not argue. It just let the heavy silence hang there.
[Mission Completed: Survive the Heat Period.]
[Mission Completed: Gain Caius’s Affection.]
[Calculating Rewards.]
[Reward 1: 1,500,000 Life Points.]
Rue narrowed her eyes at the screen, not giving a response. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
[Reward 2: Third Trimester Baby Box.]
[Description: A supply crate holding everything needed for a smooth delivery and newborn care. Unlocks at week four.]
Fine, Rue thought. At least you are paying me well for my suffering.
She pushed the fur blanket off her body. Her legs felt incredibly shaky when her bare feet hit the wooden floorboards. She grabbed the hem of the oversized black silk shirt and pulled it down as far as it would stretch. It barely reached her mid-thigh. It would have to do for now.
She walked out of the bedroom and stepped into the short hallway.
The good smell of cooking vegetables filled the air, and her stomach rumbled as she stepped toward the main living space to check on Caius.
Caius was standing in the open kitchen area. The morning sunlight poured through the window directly onto him. He was completely bare-chested. The thick muscles in his back flexed as he chopped something on the stone counter.
He was wearing loose black silk pants that hung dangerously low on his narrow hips. And she sucked in a sharp breath.
This was a lethal sight.
Rue swallowed hard. Her brain told her to turn around and look away. Her bunny body told her to walk over and bite his shoulder.
She took a slow step forward. She wanted to help him cook. Or at least stand near him.
A loud, sharp knock hit the wooden front door, freezing her in place.
Caius stopped chopping instantly. His broad shoulders tensed. He turned his head and looked at Rue. His golden eyes were sharp and highly alert. I was about to shrug and tell him that I had no idea who it was.
But he wiped his hands on a dry cloth and walked over to the door, pulling it open.
A tall beastman stood on the small grass porch. He wore dark leather armor. A thick green snake tail rested on the dirt behind him. He bowed his head respectfully.
"Greetings, General," the guard bowed his head. His voice was loud and formal. "Queen Tanith ordered me to call you and your mate to the palace for an urgent meeting."
