Free Web NovelChapter 39: Episode 039: Fight or Flight
It is their final evening in the Nightwhisper Jungle.
The air in the stone fortress felt incredibly heavy with the reality of their departure tomorrow. The damp jungle heat seemed to press down on the walls, making the quiet bedroom feel smaller than usual.
Caius was packing their belongings with blinding speed. The Left General of the Swamps was practically humming a happy tune. He moved around the room gracefully, folding the few clothes Rue had acquired and carefully wrapping the extra baby supplies. He even packed the thick white moon-fox furs from the ironwood crib, making sure his son would have them for the long journey back.
"Finally," Caius muttered to himself, stuffing a small wooden bowl into his leather travel bag. "We are finally going home."
Rue sat on the edge of the large bed. She held little Theron in her lap, gently patting the baby’s back as he slept.
She watched the giant snake beastman practically dance around the room. "You seem very excited to leave."
Caius stopped packing. He walked over to the bed and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her silver-white hair.
"I am excited to have you back in the Cabin," Caius answered honestly. His golden eyes were bright and clear. "I am excited to sleep in my own bed without having to listen to giant cats walking around outside my door all night."
Rue nodded. She completely understood. Caius had been incredibly patient, holding his temper in check for days just to keep her safe. He deserved to go back to his own territory.
A soft, heavy knock sounded on the open wooden doorframe.
Caius instantly stopped smiling. His broad shoulders stiffened. He slowly turned around, his golden eyes narrowing into a sharp glare.
Knox stood in the hallway. The Black Panther King wore his usual dark leather vest and pants. He looked completely out of place standing politely at a doorway instead of just kicking it down. He did not look at Caius. His eyes were fixed entirely on Rue.
"Can I speak with you?" Knox asked. His deep voice was unusually quiet. "Outside. For just a moment."
Caius opened his mouth to say absolutely not.
"Caius," Rue said softly, placing a small hand on his arm. "Hold the baby."
Caius swallowed his harsh words. He looked down at his mate, let out a very long, highly annoyed sigh, and reached out. He gently took the sleeping infant from her arms, holding his son securely against his chest.
"Five minutes," Caius warned the panther flatly. "If you make her cry again, I am burning this fortress down before we leave."
Knox did not argue. He simply stepped back to let Rue pass.
Rue walked out into the dim stone hallway. Knox fell into step right beside her. He walked incredibly slowly, adjusting his massive, long strides to match her small, quiet footsteps.
They walked in absolute silence until they reached the open courtyard behind the fortress.
The sun was just setting over the Nightwhisper Jungle. The sky was painted in deep shades of orange and dark purple. The thick trees cast long, heavy shadows across the stone ground. The air smelled like damp earth and night-blooming flowers.
Knox stopped in the middle of the courtyard. He kept his thick hands clasped tightly behind his back.
"You are really leaving tomorrow morning," Knox stated. It was not a question. It was a heavy, painful fact.
"Yes," Rue answered simply. She looked up at his face. "Caius needs to report back to his Queen. And Theron cannot stay in the jungle forever."
Knox frowned deeply. The thick silver scar over his left eyebrow pulled tight. He looked down at the stone floor. He was a King who commanded absolute authority, but right now, he looked entirely lost.
"I spoke to the elders," Knox said, shifting the topic to something he could actually control. "I ordered them to start gathering the ironwood. We are carving more furnitures. When the Full Moon Festival begins, we will bring them to the Convergence. Just like you instructed."
Rue smiled slightly. "That is very good business, Knox. If you sell luxury goods, the other tribes will have absolutely no choice but to respect your territory."
"I do not care about the other tribes," Knox answered bluntly. He lifted his head, his golden eyes locking onto hers. "I only care about proving to you that I can change."
Rue’s smile faded into a soft, serious expression. She crossed her arms over her pink dress. "You have already changed a lot in five days, by having this conversation with me."
Knox let out a small, dry huff of air that might have been a laugh. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
But the brief moment of humor vanished instantly. The heavy reality of her departure settled right back over his broad shoulders.
"When you are in the ironwood forest," Knox started, his voice dropping lower. He took a single, hesitant step closer to her. "Will I be allowed to see you?"
"The Full Moon Festival is a neutral zone. We will see each other there."
"The Festival is weeks away," Knox argued. His predator brain completely hated the idea of distance. "What if the Snake Queen decides to lock you in her palace? What if she does not let you leave? What if Caius decides he does not want to share you anymore?"
"Caius will not lock me away," Rue said firmly. "And I make my own choices. I promised I would be at the Festival, and I will be there."
Knox took another step forward. He was now standing incredibly close. His massive shadow entirely covered her small frame.
"This fortress," Knox whispered, gesturing blindly to the massive stone walls surrounding them. "It was just a stone box to me. I only used it to sleep and plan wars. But then you sat on that bed. You laughed at my terrible food. You let me hold your son."
Rue stared up at him. She could hear the raw, completely unfiltered emotion tearing through his deep voice.
"Tomorrow," Knox continued, his chest rising and falling heavily, "it will just be an empty stone box again."
The Black Panther King was completely overwhelmed.
He had spent his entire life relying entirely on raw instinct. When he saw something he wanted, he took it. When he felt threatened, he attacked. For the past five days, he had forced all of those heavy, burning instincts down into his stomach just to make her comfortable.
But looking at her pale face in the moonlight, knowing she was going to walk out of his gates tomorrow, his control finally slipped.
It was not out of anger. It was out of sheer, overwhelming panic and deep desire. He was terrified of losing her. He was terrified that once she went back to her normal life in the Swamps, she would completely forget about the angry jungle cat who tried to learn manners.
His predator instincts screamed at him to act, to mark her, to make her remember him.
Without a single word of warning, Knox leaned down. His hands reached out, gently but firmly grabbing her upper arms to pull her closer. Before Rue could even process the sudden restriction of her personal space, his mouth crashed down onto hers.
It was a completely desperate, heavy kiss.
Rue’s eyes flew wide open.
Her human brain tried to process what was happening, but her body reacted much faster. The sudden, fast movement of a massive predator grabbing her arms triggered every single trauma response deeply buried in her biology.
Her mind instantly flashed back to the giant female panther lunging at her in the woods. It flashed to feeling completely cornered, trapped, and utterly powerless.
She could not run, so she fought. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Rue ripped her mouth away. She violently jerked her arms out of his grasp. Without a single second of hesitation, she swung her right arm through the air with everything she had.
SMACK.
Her small, pale palm connected completely with his scarred cheek.
