Chapter 119: Episode 118: To get to know you
"Are you okay, sweetie?" Caius asks Rue, and she shakes her head.
Rue hated the way Drax’s gaze felt like a physical touch. He sat across the room, watching her with dark eyes that seemed to trace every line of her face. She could hardly decipher him.
He did not broadcast his emotions out loud as Knox did. He just watched, patient and still. That quiet mystery made him so much more interesting than Axel right now.
Axel sat at the dining table, brimming with an odd, scholarly energy as he studied the new building plans drawn on a piece of rough parchment.
The white wolf tapped a charcoal stick against the wood, muttering to himself about load-bearing beams and stone foundations. He looked up, his icy blue eyes bright with new ideas. He caught Rue staring and gave her a bright, warm smile.
What were they thinking?
Rue wondered, her heart beating a little too fast. How did she end up with a room full of dangerous beastmen who all looked at her like she was worth it?
They were planning a future, drawing walls to keep her safe, and all she could do was sit here and give them children.
That was what she was brought here for, wasn’t it?
She turned her face back into Caius’s shirt. Her skin felt too hot. The sudden spike of her pregnancy heat flared up in her blood, making her breath hitch. Her rabbit biology always reacted poorly to the strain, sending her internal temperature soaring.
"Honey, I feel warm," Rue whispered.
Caius did not waste a single second. The Serpent Alpha stood up, lifting her effortlessly into his arms.
I don’t want to think anymore, Rue thought frantically, burying her face into his neck.
His cool fingers scraped against her heated skin, sending a welcome shiver down her spine. He carried her straight into the bedroom and shut the thick wooden door behind them with a firm click.
Out in the main room, Knox immediately went to work. The panther knew exactly what that sudden flush on her face meant. He grabbed a handful of wooden blocks and dropped to the rug.
"Come here, little snake," Knox called out, clapping his hands. "Let’s build a tower."
Theron ran over to him. Mochi bounded after him, ready to knock down whatever the toddler built. Knox kept the kids busy, talking loudly and making silly animal noises. He clapped his hands and cheered every time Theron stacked a block, making sure the children would not hear the soft, needy gasps coming from the back room.
While Knox played guard, Drax quietly cleared the table. The Dragon King gathered the empty clay bowls and carried them to the washbasin.
Knox glanced over his shoulder. He saw Axel still reading his parchment, unfazed by the sudden shift in the house. Then Knox looked at Drax, who was calmly washing a wooden spoon.
"How are you both acting so normal?" Knox grunted. He stacked three blocks for Theron, keeping his voice low. "Our mate is in there dealing with her heat, and you are doing the dishes."
Drax did not even turn around. He scrubbed the clay bowl with a wet cloth.
"She needs to be sated," Drax replied smoothly. "I see no problem with that."
Knox shook his head and went back to the blocks.
But Drax was lying.
Underneath his calm exterior, his dragon blood boiled hot. He gripped the edge of the washbasin so hard the wood groaned under his fingers. His sharp ears picked up every tiny sound drifting through the thin walls.
He heard the rustle of the sheets. He heard Rue’s soft sighs turning into breathy moans.
He wanted to be there and watch Caius touch her. The dark, possessive part of his brain held a deep fetish for voyeurism.
The thought of seeing her flushed and undone, writhing under another man while she carried a child, sent a sharp spike of arousal straight to his groin.
But he forced himself to stay planted by the sink. He knew she was fragile. She was just starting to accept his presence in the cabin. If he barged in there and revealed how twisted and feral his desires really were, he would scare her away.
He took a slow breath, closed his eyes, and focused on the soapy water.
When did I become like this?
He wondered as a defeated smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
Hours later, the cabin was pitch black.
Rue woke up, watching Caius sleep soundly beside her, his long arm wrapped securely over her waist. The intense fever was gone, leaving her feeling relaxed but very thirsty. Her body felt pleasantly sore, grounded by the lingering cold of Caius’s body.
She carefully lifted Caius’s arm and slipped out of bed. She pulled her thin white robe tight around her shoulders and padded barefoot out into the living room.
The fire in the hearth was just a pile of glowing orange coals. A single candle burned on the dining table.
Drax sat there. He had a small knife in his hand, quietly carving a piece of pale wood.
Rue froze near the hallway. She thought about turning around and going back to sleep. But her throat felt like dry sand. She walked over to the water pitcher, poured herself a wooden cup of water, and drank it in three large gulps.
Drax stopped carving. He set the knife down and watched her drink. He did not say a word, just let his dark eyes rest on her illuminated face.
Rue placed the cup on the counter. She decided she was tired of tip-toeing around him. She needed answers. She walked over to the table and sat in the chair right across from him.
"What do you actually know about the original owner of this body?" Rue asked.
Her voice broke the quiet silence. She kept her tone blunt. She did not want him to sugarcoat it. She needed to know what ghost she was competing with.
Drax leaned back in his chair. The candlelight flickered across his sharp jaw. He did not look surprised by the question. He looked like he had been waiting for her to ask.
"I know she sang outside my cave," Drax said softly. He looked down at the wooden carving on the table. It looked like a small rabbit. "It was many years ago. The little one disturbed my reading, and I wanted to give her a good scolding. But her voice was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I got enthralled by it."
Rue swallowed hard. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs under her thin robe.
I don’t even know if I can actually sing.
"When I finally came out," Drax continued, looking back up at her pink eyes, "she was already running away. I only saw a flash of her. Silver hair. Pale white skin. She disappeared into the trees. But that song stayed in my head. It haunted me."
Rue felt a sharp, painful pang of guilt hit her chest.
She tightened her grip on her robe. The girl he described sounded magical. She sounded like a fairytale princess who rescued a trapped dragon with a beautiful melody.
That was not Rue.
Rue was a human girl from New York. She spent her past life sick in a sterile hospital bed, watching television and wishing she could just go outside. She was just a blunt, tired soul borrowing a pretty shell.
She felt like an imposter sitting across from him. If he fell in love with her, he was falling for a memory that she didn’t even own. If she woke up one day and her soul left this body, what would he do?
The thought made her heart ache. She did not want to hurt him.
Drax stood up. He walked slowly around the edge of the table. Rue stayed glued to her chair, her heart thumping against her ribs.
He stopped right beside her.
Drax reached out and brushed a silver curl from her cheek. "I want to take things slow and get to know you, Ruella."