Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

Chapter 51: Episode 051: You have to learn

Rue stepped into the small gap between them.

She felt the heat coming off the two men. It was intense. Caius looked like he wanted to swallow the panther whole. Knox looked like he was ready to jump and tear. Rue did not feel scared. She just felt annoyed. She was a mother, and her living room was not a wrestling ring.

"Stop," Rue said. Her voice was not loud, but it cut through the air.

She placed one hand on Caius’s chest. His muscles were hard as rock and hot. She placed her other hand on Knox’s chest. The panther felt just as solid.

"The furniture is not replaceable in this world, and I am not cleaning up blood," Rue stated flatly. "You are both Kings. Act like it."

Caius didn’t look at her. His eyes stayed glued to Knox. His black tail was still snapping the air, making a sharp, angry sound. "He is an intruder, Rue. He is here to take what is mine."

Knox did not back down. He gave a low, rumbling laugh that sounded like a saw hitting a knot in a log. "You think you own her, snake? You are just a roommate who happens to sleep in her bed. I am here to offer her a real choice."

Rue sighed. She pushed them both back with a firm shove. It was like pushing against two heavy doors, but they gave way just enough. She walked to the center of the room. She turned to face them.

"New rules," she said. "Knox, you are not sleeping in my house. You are not hovering by my windows, and you are not challenging Caius to duels. If you want to see me, you do it in the light, where people can see you."

Knox looked at her. He saw the fire in her pink eyes. He knew he had pushed too far. He gave a stiff, quick nod. "I will set up a camp in the trees near the edge of the lot."

"Fine," Rue said. "And Caius, you stop acting like a guard dog. You are a mate, not a prison guard. If you keep this up, I will start sleeping in the baby’s crib just to get away from you."

Caius went silent. He lowered his head. His tail stopped snapping and curled slowly around his ankle.

"Now," Rue said, walking back to her chair. "We are all going to the Full Moon Festival. Together. If one of you starts a fight, I am going home and taking the baby with me. Does everyone understand?"

They both nodded. It was a very unhappy truce, but it was a truce. freeweɓnøvel.com

The next few days were a strange, busy mess.

Knox set up a camp near the edge of the woods. It was a neat, clean camp with a small fire pit and a pile of thick, dry furs. He did not come inside the cabin, but he was always nearby. Rue would be sitting on the porch feeding Theron, and she would look up to see Knox sitting in a tree, watching the cabin with his dark, golden eyes. He was like a big, quiet statue.

Caius was busy, too. He was trying to be "domestic." He spent his mornings scrubbing the kitchen floor until it sparkled, and his afternoons chopping wood for the fire. He was trying very hard to show he was better than the Panther King, but he was just acting like a very stressed-out snake.

It was a funny, difficult time.

Every time Rue went to the kitchen, Caius was there, holding a plate of fruit or a glass of water. Every time she looked out the window, Knox was there, sitting in the tree like a giant, furry ornament.

They were both trying to prove they were the best mate for her, but they were doing it in the most annoying way possible.

One morning, Rue sat on the rug, playing with Theron. The baby was laughing, hitting at a wooden ball she had carved for him. Theron was growing so fast. He was strong and happy.

She looked up. Caius was standing in the doorway. He looked tired. He walked over and sat down on the rug beside her. He didn’t say anything at first. He just watched the baby play.

"You are doing a good job," Caius said suddenly.

Rue looked at him. "A good job at what?"

"Being a mother," he replied. He reached out and touched Rue’s arm. His hand was warm and dry. "You do not complain. You do not ask for help you do not need. You just... do."

Rue felt her face heat up. She looked down at Theron. "I don’t have a choice, Caius. If I complain, nothing changes. The baby still needs to eat. The house still needs to be clean. It is just logic."

"It is strength," Caius corrected. He leaned in closer. "I have never met a female who lived like you. You act as if your own comfort is a chore you have to complete."

"Because it is," Rue said.

She leaned into him. She didn’t mean to, but her body just gravitated toward the heat. Caius wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her against his chest. He smelled like rain and fresh mountain air. It was a safe, warm smell.

They sat there for a long time, watching the sunlight move across the floorboards. It was the quietest, sweetest time they had shared since the move.

"I am sorry about the fighting," Caius whispered into her hair. "I just... I have never had to share. It is not in my nature."

"I know," Rue said. "But you are going to have to learn."

"I am learning," he promised.

The eve of the Full Moon Festival finally arrived.

The air outside the cabin felt different. It was crisp and smelled of roasted meats and blooming night-flowers. Far off in the distance, Rue could hear the low, rhythmic beat of drums coming from the Convergence market. The whole world felt like it was waking up.

Rue stood on the porch, wrapped in a thin, light robe. The night was mild, but she still felt the chill on her skin. She looked out at the trees. The firelight from Knox’s camp glowed faintly through the dark woods. He was there, waiting.

She felt a soft, warm hand on her shoulder. It was Caius. He stood behind her, his golden eyes watching the same woods she was.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked.

Rue nodded. "I think so. It’s just a market. How bad can it be?"

"The Convergence is not just a market," Caius said, his voice dropping low. "It is where all the tribes meet. There will be Kings. There will be challenges. And everyone will be looking at you."

"Let them look," Rue said, her voice flat and bored. "I have survived everything else. I can survive a few beastmen."

[System Alert: The Full Moon Festival begins at dawn.]

[Task: Secure your legacy.]

[Warning: The beastworld is about to change forever.]

[Prepare yourself for a life-altering event.]