Free Web NovelChapter 33: Episode 033: How hard can it be?
[She said teach you manners... hahhahahha]
The glowing blue text flashed directly in front of Rue’s face. The Baby Making System was the first to laugh. Even if she could not hear a physical voice, the digital laughing echoed loudly and clearly inside her skull. The machine was practically rolling on its digital floor.
It was not just the system. The four massive panther elders broke into loud, booming laughter. The deep sound bounced off the dark stone walls of the bedroom. They threw their heavy heads back, completely amused by the tiny white rabbit making such a ridiculous threat.
Caius stood behind Rue’s chair. His lips twitched. He tried his absolute best to keep a straight face, but he found it incredibly hard not to laugh. Knox, standing on the other side, also fought a sudden smirk. The idea of this small, pale female teaching giant, scarred apex predators how to act was objectively funny.
One of the older elders, the one with the torn ear, pointed a thick finger at her.
"Who do you think you are?" the elder wheezed, wiping a tear of amusement from his dark, wrinkled eye. "Matriarch Roxann?"
It was a heavy comparison. Roxy Bell had completely saved the Beastworld from an infertility curse before returning to Earth. She was a legend. Rue was just a girl who wanted a nap.
The other elders burst out laughing again. The sound was deafening.
Caius’s smirk vanished entirely. His golden eyes bled into a violent red. Nobody mocked his mate. Knox also dropped his amusement instantly. The Black Panther King shifted his weight, his thick muscles bunching as he prepared to silence his council by force.
Rue did not wait for the two massive beasts to start a bloodbath in her bedroom. freewebnøvel.coɱ
She reached over to the wooden table next to her chair. She grabbed a heavy, solid stone cup. Without changing her blank expression, she simply opened her hand and dropped it.
CRASH.
The heavy stone shattered violently against the hard floor. The incredibly sharp, loud noise cut cleanly through the booming laughter.
Everywhere went completely quiet. The elders snapped their mouths shut, staring at the broken pieces on the floor.
The sudden noise woke little Theron. A loud, frantic wail erupted from the beautiful ironwood crib in the corner of the room.
Caius moved immediately. He walked over, carefully scooped the crying infant into his large arms, and brought the baby straight to Rue. He placed Theron gently into her lap. Rue patted the baby’s back twice. Theron sniffled, buried his tiny face against her pink dress, and stopped crying completely.
Rue looked up at the four silent elders. She did not look intimidated.
"Oops," Rue said in a perfectly flat tone. "Sorry. It slipped."
The elders stared at her. They realized very quickly that the rabbit was not joking, and she was certainly not scared of them.
"I am not asking for your permission," Rue stated clearly, looking at the council. "This is happening."
She turned her head to look up at the giant panther standing to her right.
"I will be starting with your King," Rue announced. "He has no choice but to agree. Right, Knox?"
Knox looked down at her. He opened his mouth, clearly ready to argue. He was a wild beast. He did not take lessons from anyone, let alone a prey female.
Rue did not give him the chance to speak. She tilted her head and flashed him a bright, blinding smile. It was a completely genuine, sunny expression that she had never shown to him before. It made her pink eyes crinkle at the corners.
Knox’s brain entirely short-circuited.
His heart completely melted. The heavy, protective walls he built around his mind crumbled into dust. He stared at her bright smile, absolutely captivated. He forgot the elders were in the room. He forgot Caius was standing right there. He forgot his own name.
"Yes," Knox agreed instantly. The word rolled right off his tongue without him even thinking about it.
The elders lost their minds.
"My KING!" the elder with the torn ear shouted in absolute horror.
"How could you receive lessons from a prey!" another elder yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "It is a complete disgrace to the Nightwhisper Jungle!"
Knox did not even look at them. He simply raised one massive, scarred hand in the air to silence the room. His golden eyes remained completely locked on Rue’s face.
"She will be Queen soon," Knox declared, his deep voice carrying absolute, terrifying authority. "And she can rule over us in whatever way she deems fit."
Rue’s bright smile vanished instantly.
Her stomach dropped to the stone floor. A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. That was entirely the wrong thing to say. She was trying to secure a business deal, and he just announced a royal marriage to a room full of hostile politicians.
Rue let out a highly nervous, awkward laugh.
She reached out and punched Knox directly in his side. Her small fist hit his thick abdominal muscles. It felt exactly like punching a solid brick wall. Knox did not even flinch, but Rue’s knuckles throbbed painfully.
"Don’t worry," Rue told the staring elders, waving her bruised hand. "Your King is just joking."
She turned slightly and whispered furiously through her teeth at the panther.
"Tell them you are joking," Rue ordered.
Knox completely ignored the order. He threw his face away, looking up at the stone ceiling like a stubborn toddler. He flatly refused to take the words back. He meant what he said.
*Shit,* Rue cursed in her mind.
The glowing blue screen popped up again right next to Knox’s head.
[I guess there is no running away from responsibility.]
Rue sighed heavily. She reached up and ran a pale hand down her tired face. She looked at the baby resting in her lap, then at the giant snake glaring at the panther, and finally at the angry elders.
*This doesn’t seem like a vacation anymore,* Rue thought clinically.
She sat up straight. She had to take control of the room before the elders started a riot.
"Listen to me carefully," Rue commanded, her voice cutting through the heavy tension. "In exactly five days, we are leaving for the Full Moon Festival. For the next five days, I am going to teach Knox how to behave. I will teach him how to interact with prey beasts and fellow predators without causing a war."
The elders stared at her in total disbelief.
"If he can learn to walk through a crowded market without terrifying everyone to death," Rue explained logically, "then you can learn it too. You will finally be able to leave this jungle. You will be able to trade your ironwood and your rare furs. You will not have to hide anymore." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
The logic was completely sound. It was basic economics. But the elders did not trust it. They looked at Knox. Their King was a creature built for extreme violence. He solved every single problem in his life by ripping it to pieces. He had no patience, no filter, and no manners.
Rue looked up at Knox too. She studied his scarred face and his arrogant posture. She was highly doubtful herself.
The elders waited for their King to speak. They expected him to finally snap out of his trance and reject this ridiculous plan.
Knox crossed his heavily muscled arms over his broad chest. He looked down at the tiny rabbit holding a baby, then looked at his completely silent council. He puffed out his chest, his golden eyes shining with confidence.
"I am a King, how hard can it be?"
