Chapter 104: Episode 103: My Turn
The cave felt incredibly quiet the second the giant wolf finally walked out.
His heavy boots thumped slowly down the long stone tunnel. The sound completely faded into the damp swamp air. Then there was nothing. Just the quiet crackle of the hearth and the soft breathing of the babies on the bed.
The heavy tension in the room vanished instantly. The air felt clear again.
A blue screen popped up right over the mattress.
[Host stress levels returning to normal. Threat successfully removed.]
Rue didn’t even glare at the text. She just swiped her hand through the air. The glowing box shattered into tiny pixels and disappeared. She let out a very long breath. Her shoulders finally dropped. She didn’t have to keep her guard up anymore. The King of the North was gone. She was safe.
She looked down at the giant stone bed. It was time to get the babies to sleep. Theron was fighting his tiredness. He kicked his chubby legs and babbled quietly at the ceiling. Mochi was already completely passed out. The tiny snow leopard cub was curled into a tight gray ball next to the pillows.
Rue went to work. She pulled a warm cloth from the wooden basin. She gently wiped the milk off Theron’s chin. She hummed a completely toneless song from her old world. She didn’t have a good singing voice, but Theron didn’t care. His bright golden eyes slowly started to droop.
She tucked a thick white fur blanket securely around his tiny shoulders. She made sure his little tail was comfortable. Within ten minutes, the baby boy was fast asleep. He let out a soft, tiny snore.
Rue stood up from the bed. She stretched her back.
Knox walked over and pressed a soft kiss directly to the top of her head. "I am going to check the perimeter," the giant panther said quietly. "I want to make sure the wolf actually left the swamp."
"Okay," Rue whispered back.
Knox slipped out of the cave. He didn’t make a single sound.
Rue was left alone with Caius. The Serpent Alpha sat at the heavy wooden table in the center of the room. He had an old, thick book open in front of him. The green candles burned softly on the stone shelves, casting a warm light across his sharp face. He looked entirely calm. His long black tail rested perfectly still against the cold stone floor.
Rue looked at him. A very sudden, intense feeling of safety washed entirely over her.
She spent weeks terrified in the freezing snow. She spent days trapped in a carriage with an apex predator. Now, she was standing in a warm cave with a mate who completely respected her space. He wasn’t crowding her. He wasn’t demanding anything. He was just sitting there, reading a book, making sure she was safe.
Her rabbit body reacted before her human brain could even process the feeling.
She felt a familiar, strange tug right in her chest. Her magic flared. A soft white poof of smoke filled the air near the bed.
Her heavy clothes dropped completely to the floor. Rue shrank down in a matter of seconds.
She was a tiny, silver-white bunny again.
She poked her little head out from under the hem of her winter dress. Her nose twitched rapidly. The cave smelled like old paper, dried herbs, and Caius. It smelled incredibly safe. She filed this sudden transformation under the clinical label of a biological stress relief response. She wasn’t shifting because she wanted attention. Her body just needed to feel small and protected for a little while.
She hopped out of the pile of clothes. Her soft white paws hit the cold stone floor. She hopped twice. Then she stopped and stood entirely up on her hind legs. She checked her surroundings. Everything looked massive from down here. The wooden table looked like a giant tree.
She dropped back down to all fours. She hopped right over to Caius.
She stopped at the base of his heavy wooden chair. She looked up at him. He was still reading his book. He didn’t notice her yet.
Rue thumped her back foot loudly against the stone.
Caius stopped reading. He slowly lowered his book. His golden eyes looked down at the floor.
He completely froze.
The terrifying Left General of the Swamps stopped breathing. His golden eyes went incredibly wide. He stared at the tiny, fluffy white bunny sitting next to his boot.
Caius was an ambush predator. He killed things for a living. He had massive, crushing coils. He had venom. He did not have any practical experience dealing with a tiny, fragile prey animal outside of his human form. His sharp brain completely short-circuited.
Rue didn’t wait for him to figure it out. She gathered her strength and jumped.
She hopped right up onto his lap.
Caius gasped softly. His entire body went completely rigid. He pushed himself back against the wooden chair. He was terrified he was going to break her. He kept his large hands hovering awkwardly in the air. He didn’t know where to put them.
Rue settled comfortably into the dark fabric of his tunic. She tucked her front paws perfectly under her chest. She turned her little head and looked up at him with bright pink eyes. Her long ears flopped softly over her back.
What are you doing? Caius’s voice echoed nervously in her head.
I am sitting, Rue thought back at him. Her internal voice was perfectly flat.
You are very small.
I am a rabbit, Caius. That is how this works.
Caius swallowed hard. He slowly lowered his hands. He looked at her like she was a highly unstable explosive. He wanted to touch her, but he was afraid his rough skin would hurt her soft fur.
He carefully extended one single finger.
He reached down. He gently traced the very edge of her long white ear. He moved his finger incredibly slowly.
Rue closed her eyes. The touch felt amazing. Her rabbit body completely took over her logical brain.
She started clicking her tiny teeth together.
It was a soft, rhythmic sound. It vibrated right against Caius’s leg. She was tooth-purring. She absolutely hated that she was doing it. It was incredibly undignified. She was a human woman from New York, not a house pet. She tried to force her mouth shut. She tried to file the physical reaction under involuntary muscle spasms.
It didn’t work. She just kept purring. She leaned her soft head directly into his hand, completely demanding more attention.
Caius let out a long, shaky breath. The rigid tension in his shoulders finally melted away. A very faint, completely undignified pink blush spread across his high cheekbones. He found her absolutely adorable. He used his whole hand now, gently stroking his long fingers all the way down her soft back.
His heavy black tail slowly lifted off the cold stone floor.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His tail slapped happily against the ground. He couldn’t control his own instincts either. He was holding his mate, and she was purring for him. He felt incredibly proud.
They sat there for a long time. The cave was totally peaceful. The only sounds were the quiet crackle of the fire, the soft clicking of Rue’s teeth, and the rhythmic slapping of Caius’s tail.
Then, heavy footsteps echoed from the tunnel entrance.
Knox walked back into the cave. The giant panther had snow on his broad shoulders. He wiped his boots on the stone floor. He looked totally relaxed. He confirmed Axel was actually gone.
He turned his head and looked at the wooden table.
He saw Caius. He saw the Serpent Alpha gently petting the tiny white bunny on his lap. He saw Caius blushing. He heard the happy tail slaps.
Knox stopped walking. His golden eyes locked directly onto the bunny.
A massive, highly competitive grin spread across his face. He didn’t care that Caius looked peaceful. He didn’t care that Rue was almost asleep.
Knox walked straight up to the table. He crossed his massive arms over his chest.
"My turn."