Free Web NovelChapter 55: Episode 055: Two bickering adult
The sun finally sank below the tree line. The sky turned a deep, bruised purple. Then, the Full Moon rose.
It cast a bright silver light over the entire Beastworld. The light filtered through the thick leaves of the forest, hitting the wooden roof of the small cabin. Far away, the deep, rhythmic thumping of heavy drums started to echo from the Convergence. The festival music was loud. The market was completely awake.
Inside the cabin, Caius stood near the stone hearth. He was in his human form, wearing dark formal clothes. He crossed his thick arms tightly over his chest. He was doing his absolute best to ignore the massive panther sitting at his dining table.
Knox was taking up far too much space. He sat in Rue’s favourite padded chair. He had his long legs stretched out in front of him. He looked entirely relaxed, but his gold eyes were sharp and tracking every single movement in the room.
Caius hated it. He hated the panther’s blatant presence in his home. He hated the way Knox’s heavy, musky jungle scent was filling the small living room. It smelled like wet leaves and wild predator. It was completely ruining the clean, cedarwood smell Caius worked so hard to maintain. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Caius uncrossed his arms. He walked over to the wooden window shutter. He shoved it open. The cool night wind blew into the room.
"It is freezing," Knox stated flatly.
"You smell like a dead animal" Caius replied. His voice was cold and entirely void of politeness. "I am airing out my house."
Knox let out a low, rumbling laugh. The sound grated on Caius’s nerves. "You live in a swamp, snake. I smell like the Nightwhisper Jungle. It is a highly superior scent. The Matriarch happens to like the jungle."
Caius turned his back to the open window. His golden eyes narrowed. "She likes a clean house. She does not like wild animals shedding fur on her floorboards."
Knox leaned back in the chair. He crossed his arms. "I do not shed. I groom myself perfectly. You are just upset because I am sitting in the center of your territory. I am breathing your air. I am waiting for our Matriarch."
The word ’our’ hit Caius like a physical blow. His jaw locked. His fangs extended slightly, pressing against his bottom lip. He took a slow, heavy step toward the dining table.
"She is my mate," Caius hissed quietly. He did not want to wake the baby in the next room, but he wanted to make his point. "I brought her here. I built this home. You are a guest. You are only here because she has an extremely high tolerance for annoying things."
Knox stood up. The chair scraped loudly against the wooden floor. He was just as tall as Caius. He was just as broad. They were two massive apex predators standing two feet apart in a very small room.
"I am a King," Knox reminded him. His voice lost its relaxed tone. It became heavy and thick. "I offered her the protection of an entire army. I offered her the strength of my bloodline. You wash fruit. That is a chore. It is not a kingdom."
Caius stared at the panther. The muscles in his neck twitched. He wanted to throw Knox straight through the open window. He calculated the exact angle and force required to break the panther’s jaw and toss him out into the dirt. It was a very simple math equation in his head.
But he remembered Rue’s face. He remembered her flat, tired voice telling him not to destroy the furniture. He remembered the rules she had established. If he started a fight, she would take the baby and leave. That was an unacceptable outcome. It was highly illogical to risk losing her just to punch a jungle cat.
Caius took a deep breath. He forced his fangs to retract. He forced his hands to open. He walked away from the table. He went to the kitchen area and picked up a clean cloth. He started wiping down the already perfectly clean wooden counter.
"You can offer her a kingdom," Caius said, rubbing the cloth in a tight circle. "She does not want a kingdom. She wants a quiet life. She wants to be left alone."
"Nobody leaves the Matriarch alone," Knox argued. He walked over to the hearth. He leaned against the stone. "The entire beastworld is waiting for her. Tonight, every tribe leader will see her at the Convergence. They will see who she stands with. They will see whose colors she wears."
Caius stopped wiping the counter. He gripped the cloth tightly.
The colors.
The choice between the dark jungle silk and the pale pink rabbit weave. It was the absolute center of this entire conflict. Caius knew what he wanted. He wanted to see her walk out of that bedroom wearing the soft pink fabric. He wanted Knox to see it. He wanted the panther to realize his dark silk box meant absolutely nothing.
"She will make her own choice," Caius stated.
Knox crossed his arms. "She is a smart female. She knows logic. The dark silk guarantees her safety. It is the only choice."
"You do not know her at all," Caius said coldly.
They glared at each other across the small room. The tension was incredibly thick. It felt like walking through deep mud. The air crackled with suppressed violence.
Outside, the festival drums grew louder. The rhythmic thumping matched the heavy beating of their hearts. The silver moonlight poured through the open window, cutting a bright rectangle across the wooden floorboards. The night was ready. The market was ready.
They just needed Rue.
"When we walk to the market," Knox said, breaking the silence again. "I will take her right side. The right side is the traditional place for the primary protector."
Caius dropped the cleaning cloth onto the counter. He turned around. His golden eyes flashed. "You will not take the right side. The right side is closest to the main road. I will take the right side."
"I have better night vision," Knox countered stubbornly. "I can spot a threat in the dark faster than a swamp snake. I take the right side."
"I have heat-sensing pits," Caius shot back. "I do not need light to see a threat. I can feel a warm body moving three miles away. I take the right side."
"And what if the threat does not have a heartbeat?" Knox asked, crossing his arms tighter. "What if it is a trap? A falling tree? A hidden ditch? Heat pits cannot see a ditch. I take the right side."
"If a tree falls, I will simply catch it," Caius replied with absolute, deadpan seriousness. "I am stronger than you."
"You are not stronger than me," Knox growled, his voice vibrating in his chest. "I ripped a mountain bear in half last winter."
"A mountain bear is slow," Caius dismissed the achievement with a wave of his hand. "I killed fifty rogue wolves in a single night without waking up my camp."
They were arguing over a walking position and comparing kill counts. It was entirely ridiculous. They were two grown, lethal Kings arguing like small children fighting over a wooden toy. They both knew it was ridiculous, but neither man was willing to back down. Giving up the right side meant giving up dominance. It meant submitting to the other predator in front of the entire Convergence.
Knox took a heavy step forward. His boots thumped against the floorboards. "We will let her decide. The Matriarch’s word is law."
"She hates deciding things," Caius replied, standing his ground. "It burns her calories. She explicitly stated she dislikes politics. I am taking the right side to save her the trouble of choosing."
"You are just afraid she will ask me to walk there," Knox growled, his yellow eyes narrowing into sharp slits. "You are afraid she will prefer the jungle over the swamp."
They stood completely still, locked in a silent standoff. The silver moonlight hit their faces. Knox’s yellow eyes glowed in the dark. Caius’s golden eyes reflected the pale light. They were ready to continue bickering. Knox opened his mouth to deliver another insult about swamp mud. Caius shifted his weight, preparing to insult the panther’s lack of domestic hygiene.
Then, a very small sound cut through the heavy tension.
Click.
It was the sound of the metal latch on the bedroom door.
Both men instantly snapped their heads toward the sound. Their argument completely vanished. The right side of the road did not matter anymore. The festival drums outside did not matter. The only thing that mattered was the heavy wooden door slowly swinging open.
The door hinges made a soft squeaking noise. The warm, yellow light from the bedroom candles spilled out into the dark living room, cutting across the floorboards and hitting their boots.
Rue stepped out of the bedroom.
She was not alone. She held little Theron securely against her chest. The baby boy was wide awake. His bright golden eyes blinked against the sudden change in lighting. Theron was wearing a brand-new, tiny outfit. It was a soft, perfectly tailored little onesie with tiny soft booties. It matched his mother completely. The fabric on the baby was exactly the same as the fabric on Rue.
Caius stopped breathing.
Knox went entirely rigid.
Neither man spoke. The silence in the living room was absolute. It was so quiet a pin dropping would sound like a thunderclap. The air left the room completely.
Knox stared at her. His jaw literally dropped. His mouth hung open slightly. His sharp feline eyes were completely wide. He forgot he was a King. He forgot he was a lethal jungle predator. He just stared.
Caius was not doing any better. The snake general was completely frozen. His long, dark tail stopped moving entirely. It hit the floor with a soft thud and stayed there. His golden eyes were locked onto her frame. His hands fell loosely to his sides. He looked like a man who had just been struck by a very bright bolt of lightning and forgot how his own lungs worked.
They did not look at the baby. They did not look at her shoes. They looked directly at the Matriarch.
Rue stood in the doorway. She held Theron on her hip. She looked at Knox standing near the hearth. She looked at Caius standing near the kitchen counter. They looked like two massive statues. They were completely silent. They were just staring at her with wide, stunned expressions.
She shifted her weight. She bounced the baby once to settle him. Theron let out a happy, quiet coo and grabbed a small handful of her dress.
Rue looked back at the two beastmen. She did not blush. She did not smile proudly. She just looked confused and very slightly annoyed by the massive pause in efficiency.
"Why are you both looking at me like that?"
