Free Web NovelChapter 28: Episode 028: No one lays a hand on her.
The Swamps.
The throne room of the Swamp Palace was damp, cold, and entirely imposing. Heavy stone pillars reached up into the dark ceiling. Queen Tanith sat on her elevated seat, looking down at the Left General of her army.
Caius paced the floor. He had just returned from the Nightwhisper Jungle, and he was completely furious. He did not care that his ribs were bandaged or that he was exhausted from fighting hyenas and panthers. His golden eyes flared with a highly volatile, bloodthirsty red.
"He kept her in his fortress," Caius complained loudly, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "He locked her in his personal quarters. And he had the absolute audacity to look me in the eye and say he wants to breed my mate."
Tanith lifted a delicate porcelain cup to her lips. She took a slow, completely unbothered sip of her hot tea.
"It was bound to happen anyway," Tanith said smoothly.
Caius stopped pacing instantly. He stared up at his Queen. His jaw tightened. "What do you mean?"
Tanith lowered her cup. The rim clicked softly against the saucer. She looked at him with her cold, black-beaded eyes.
"Do you remember the time at the Convergence?" Tanith asked. "When you sat at my table, completely confused about how to handle a rabbit? I gave you a very specific piece of advice. Do you remember what I told you?"
Of course, he would remember.
Whatever choice she makes at the end of the road, follow her.
Caius pressed his lips into a thin, hard line. He understood exactly what the Basilisk Queen was implying.
"She is unique," Tanith continued, leaning back in her heavy chair. "She is highly fertile. And she carries the scent of a female who can survive this brutal world. Males will smell her. Powerful males will want to claim her. You cannot fight every single beast in the wild, Caius. More of this will continue."
Caius clenched his fist. His sharp claws dug deeply into his own palm, drawing small drops of blood. His deeply possessive instincts screamed at the concept. He was a snake. Snakes did not share their territory, and they definitely did not share their mates.
The thought of another male touching Rue made his blood boil. But Tanith was right. The system, the Beastworld, and fate itself were going to drag Rue into the centre of everything.
Gianna, who was sitting on the steps near the throne, popped a sweet berry into her mouth. She swallowed it quickly and leaned forward.
She pressed her small hand against Caius’s tightly clenched fist.
"I can be your second mate then," Gianna offered. She blinked her bright green eyes at him, completely ruining the serious, heavy tension in the room.
*Smack.*
Tanith’s hand shot out and slapped Gianna’s hand away from the general. Tanith glared at her younger sister.
Gianna groaned loudly. She pulled her hand back and rubbed her stinging, red skin. "I was just joking!"
Tanith ignored her sister’s whining. She shifted her attention back to Caius.
"The Full Moon Festival is coming up," Tanith announced. Her tone shifted from a scolding sister back to a commanding Queen. "It will be held at the centre of the Convergence. All tribes will be present. I hope you will bring her."
Caius took a deep breath. He forced his fist to unclench. He looked at Tanith and gave a sharp, formal nod.
"Yes," Caius said heavily. "I will."
****
Panther territory.
Deep inside the massive stone fortress of the Nightwhisper Jungle, the King was not having a quiet evening. Knox sat at the head of a large, circular wooden table. The room was hot and completely suffocating.
Five Panther Elders surrounded him. They were the oldest, most battle-hardened beasts in the entire clan. Their dark fur was turning grey, and their bodies were covered in thick, ugly scars. Right now, they were absolutely furious.
"You brought a female rabbit into our tribe," a male elder shouted, slamming his fist onto the wood. "Have you completely lost your mind?"
"She is mated to a snake," a female elder added. Her voice was sharp and laced with panic. "Not just any snake. You fought the Left General of the Swamps right on our front steps. Do you understand what you have done?"
Knox did not answer. He stared blankly at the dark wood grain on the table.
"Now the Snake Tribe knows exactly where we are," the female elder continued, pointing a shaking, clawed finger at him. "We have kept this fortress hidden for generations to avoid wars. If the Snake Queen wishes to destroy this place, she can easily do it! They have the numbers to wipe us entirely off the map!"
The Elders continued to yell. They threw accusations, strategies, and desperate warnings across the table.
But Knox wasn’t even concentrating. The loud noise of the council room faded completely into the background. His mind kept flickering right back to the dim, quiet bedroom.
He saw Rue. He saw her soft, pale skin. He saw the exact way she held the tiny baby, poking his nose and making him smile. He heard her soft, genuine laugh. He heard the exact, flat tone of her voice when she poked him directly in the chest.
When you start feeling your heart thump for no good reason... that is love.
Knox’s chest felt incredibly tight. He had never experienced anything like it. He wanted to go back to that room. He wanted to sit on the cold floor and just watch her breathe.
"Are you even listening to us?!" the female elder shouted at the top of her lungs, completely shattering his daydream.
Knox slowly raised his head. His golden eyes locked onto her. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
The female elder sneered. She let her anger completely override her common sense.
"How are you different from your father," she spat viciously, "if you keep behaving like this?!"
The room went dead silent.
Knox frowned. The thick silver scar running through his left eyebrow twitched once.
The comparison to his father was a fatal mistake. His father was a deeply unstable monster who nearly ran the clan into extinction over petty, violent obsessions. Knox had spent his entire life building the Nightwhisper Jungle back into a stronghold just to erase that legacy.
Knox suddenly cornered the female elder against the wall. He reached out and held her by the throat, lifting her slightly off her feet.
"Say that again," Knox whispered. His voice was a dark, lethal hum. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The female elder’s black eyes widened in absolute terror. She grabbed his thick wrist with both hands, her claws digging deeply into his dark skin. She opened her mouth to scream, to apologise, to beg.
But with the exact way he was tightening the thick cords of muscle on her neck, she was completely not allowed to speak. Her air supply was entirely crushed.
The other four Elders panicked. They jumped up from their wooden chairs, shouting and shifting half their weight forward. They rushed him, trying desperately to pull his massive arm away to stop him.
But it was too late.
With a sharp, completely effortless twist of his wrist, Knox killed her. The loud snap of bone echoed sharply through the hot, silent room. He dropped her lifeless body. She hit the stone floor like a discarded sack of flour.
The remaining Elders froze in their tracks. Complete, paralysing fear locked their knees. They stared down at the dead female, then slowly looked up at their King.
Knox turned to face them. His golden eyes were completely dark, void of any mercy or regret.
"No one lays a hand on Rue," Knox declared slowly. "Or else, I will be the one to bring this tribe to the ground."
