Free Web NovelChapter 18: Episode 018: I love you, Rue.
A week later.
Rue never left the cabin. She never even left the bedroom. She stayed under the thick fur blankets and stared blindly at the wooden ceiling.
Her belly grew a little more. The baby demanded constant nourishment. She became incredibly hungry all the time. She ate the fresh vegetables Caius brought her in absolute silence.
Caius didn’t like this at all. It was driving him totally crazy. The dead silence was significantly worse than her rejection. He couldn’t hear her voice. He couldn’t hear her mind. He was completely shut out.
He went to the palace and had a massive argument with Queen Tanith. He yelled right in the basilisk’s face. He almost got thrown straight into the palace dungeons for treason. He didn’t care about the consequences. He was too stressed about his mate.
Iris came to the cabin every single day. The purple-eyed saint wanted to check on Rue. Rue refused to step out of the bedroom. She just rolled over and faced the wooden wall.
Caius finally met Iris at the front door. He told her to stop coming.
Iris looked down at the dirt. She felt terribly guilty. She told Caius she shouldn’t have rushed things. She shouldn’t have cornered Rue in the art room. If she’d known Rue carried such a heavy weight in her heart, they’d have dropped the subject entirely.
Caius just nodded his head and shut the door.
When he woke up that morning It was with a brand new idea. He walked into the bedroom and pulled the fur blanket right off the bed.
Rue curled into a tight ball. She didn’t want to wake up.
"Get up," Caius ordered softly.
He forced her to get out of bed. He claimed he had a very nice idea for their day. It’d be only him and her. No one else. Not the royal sisters. Not the noisy market. Not the rest of the world.
Rue was highly curious as she peeked out of the fur blanket. She didn’t fight him.
She shifted into her bunny form because it was easier to travel. Caius carefully placed her in the back of the wooden wagon. He wrapped her in a soft coat. He pulled the wagon out of their quiet neighbourhood and deep into the Ironwood territory.
The trees here were absolutely massive. Their dark bark looked like solid black metal.
He stopped the wagon at the mouth of a hidden cave. He picked Rue up gently and carried her inside the dark tunnel.
They walked through the solid rock until the space opened up completely.
A massive waterfall crashed down into a crystal clear pool. The place was perfectly serene. It was incredibly quiet, except for the loud rush of the falling water. The cool air was filled with soft nature sounds. Small birds chirped happily in the high rocks.
Rue shifted back into her human form with a soft pop. She stood on the edge of the water, staring at the beauty of nature in awe.
The whole place smelled heavenly. It smelled like fresh rain and blooming flowers.
Hot tears filled her pink eyes. She blinked them away quickly. When was the last time she saw something as beautiful as this? Her old hospital room only had a terrible view of a dirty brick wall.
"This is the place my mother gave birth to me," Caius shared quietly, calling back her attention.
Rue was completely shocked. She turned her head quickly to look at him.
"Cai..." Rue whispered.
Caius chuckled. The sound was rough and deeply sad. "Don’t look at me like that."
He faced the running falls again. His golden eyes reflected the moving water. He didn’t look at her.
"I hate you like this," Caius poured his heart out. His voice echoed loudly over the water. "I want my Rue back. The cute Rue that hates to be in people’s space but’ll still come to me and hide. But instead of hiding behind me, you’re hiding behind those doors. You’re keeping me out."
Rue stared at his broad back.
"Caius..." she started.
She was entirely unsure of what to say. He was absolutely right. She was trying to run away from the world. She was trying to run away from him. She kept waiting for him to get tired and leave. She expected him to abandon her.
But all week, Caius had been a complete angel to her. He cooked her food. He did every single chore. He cuddled her when she needed it. He slept next to her when she wanted and craved his touch. She’d been completely ignoring how it’d make him feel. She was being incredibly selfish.
Caius turned around. He closed the distance between them and held her by the shoulders. His grip was warm and very grounding.
"Beasts aren’t good at love," Caius said. His voice dropped to a heavy rumble. "But when they love, they love foolishly. They love childishly. They love wildly. I love you, Rue."
Rue stopped breathing.
"I want to see you laugh," Caius continued. "I want to see you smile. I want to hear you whine. I even want to hear you cry when I’m railing you a little bit too much."
Rue flushed a brilliant, violent red. Her pink eyes popped wide open. Her deadpan nature completely broke in half.
"I-isn’t that too much description?" she stammered.
Caius actually smiled. It was a small, highly genuine thing.
"What about you, Rue?" he asked softly. He searched her face. "Do you love me back?"
Rue’s eyes drooped. She looked at the rocky ground. Her eyes narrowed in deep sorrow. She didn’t say a single word.
Her thoughts, however, were incredibly loud.
I’m scared.
Caius’ face fell completely. His large hands dropped from her shoulders. He stepped back. He ran a hand down his face, cupping his sharp jaw and flexing it hard. He looked totally defeated.
The blue screen flashed brightly in her mind. fгeewebnovёl.com
[Just accept you’re head over heels in love with him, Host Rue.]
I can’t,
[We’ve been over this.]
Rue responded with total silence. She shut the screen down in her head. She folded her arms over her chest and stared at the water. She was going to stand her ground. She was going to stay totally detached. It was the only way to survive.
Caius watched her retreat right back into her shell. He took a very deep breath.
"Do you know I can’t swim?" Caius asked out of nowhere.
Rue blinked. She dropped her arms and looked up at him, confused about why he suddenly said that.
"What?"
It was a highly stupid question. He was a snake. Snakes could definitely swim. Most of them lived directly in the swamp. But before she could even say another word, Caius turned around. He rushed straight toward the edge of the deep pool.
He didn’t hesitate. He suddenly dived right into the rushing water.
A loud splash echoed off the cave walls.
Rue stood completely frozen. She waited for him to surface. She waited for him to pop up and laugh at her.
He didn’t.
Right before her eyes, she watched the bubbles stop. She watched his dark hair sink beneath the surface. He was actually drowning.
Her eyes went wide like saucers.
Her heart completely stopped beating. A cold spike of pure, unfiltered terror stabbed right through her chest. The words she said before shattered into a million tiny pieces.
He was dying. Her mate was dying.
She didn’t think. She didn’t care about the cold water or her pregnant belly. She sprinted toward the edge of the rock.
The system flared violently in her vision.
[No falling in love Skill has been deactivated. Penalty in Progress.]
Rue didn’t care. She dived into the water without a single care in the world.
