Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

Rue refused.

She didn’t want to move. She pressed her small, fuzzy body flat against Caius’s dark tunic. She tucked her long white ears tightly against her head. She wiggled quickly backwards until she was wedged right against Caius’s solid stomach.

I want Caius, not you,

Her rabbit body felt perfectly safe exactly where she was. She didn’t want the loud, highly energetic panther disturbing her rest. She just wanted to sit in the quiet.

Caius froze for a split second. Then, a wave of pure smugness washed over his sharp, pale face.

He slowly raised his chin in total pride. He looked up at Knox with bright, glowing golden eyes. He didn’t have to say a single word. His black tail slapped the cold wooden floor twice in total victory. He won this round. He gently curled his long, elegant fingers around her small, fuzzy back to protect his prize.

Knox’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

He let out a very long, highly exaggerated sigh. He dropped his large hands and took a step back.

"Fine," Knox muttered softly. He crossed his thick arms over his broad chest. He refused to look jealous. "I will let you have her this time. But only because she is tired. The next time she shifts, she is mine."

Caius just smirked. He didn’t argue. He went right back to gently stroking her long white ears.

Across the quiet, warm cabin, a tiny noise broke the peaceful silence.

Theron was totally awake. The baby boy sat upright in the middle of the giant wooden bed. He pushed his thick white fur blankets out of the way. He rubbed his bright golden eyes with two chubby fists. He looked across the room. He saw his mother sitting as a bunny in Caius’s lap. He saw Knox standing nearby, guarding the table.

Theron felt left out of the fun.

He didn’t cry. He didn’t scream for their attention. He just decided he needed to cross the giant wooden room immediately.

He crawled quickly over the soft pillows to the very edge of the mattress. He swung his short, chubby legs over the side. He slid down very carefully until his bare feet hit the freezing wooden floor.

Rue noticed the sudden movement instantly. Her pink eyes darted straight toward the bed. Her strong maternal instincts overrode her desperate need for a peaceful nap.

Rue poofed directly back into her human form. She sat sideways on Caius’s lap, her long silver hair spilling over his dark tunic. She didn’t care that she was casually sitting on a highly dangerous spot. She kept her eyes glued perfectly on her son.

"Look," Rue whispered urgently. She pointed her small finger toward the bed.

Theron let go of the mattress. He stood on his own two feet. He wobbled. His tiny arms spun in tight circles like tiny windmills to keep his balance.

"You can do it, little guy," Rue cheered softly. Her voice was full of genuine, warm excitement. She smiled widely. "Come here. Walk to me."

Theron heard her voice. He locked his golden eyes right on her face. He gave an incredibly happy, toothless smile.

Then he took a step.

He didn’t walk carefully at all. He crashed into things with confidence. He threw his right foot forward and stomped on the wood. He threw his left foot out next. He moved too fast for his own good. He had no spatial awareness whatsoever.

He walked directly into a low wooden stool.

He bounced right off the thick wood. He didn’t even cry. He just giggled loudly, corrected his messy path, and kept stomping straight toward the table.

Knox panicked. The giant panther dropped his cool attitude instantly. He hovered closely behind the baby boy, holding his hands out just in case Theron fell backwards. He looked exactly like a highly stressed bodyguard.

But Theron didn’t fall. He marched with pure, chaotic toddler energy right up to Caius’s chair.

Theron slapped his chubby hands hard against Caius’s knee. He looked up at Rue. He reached his short arms straight up into the air. He opened and closed his tiny fists, demanding to be lifted.

Rue smiled warmly. Her heart felt full. She leaned down and wrapped her thin arms around his small chest.

She pulled him up.

"Ugh," Rue groaned out loud.

Her arms physically strained. Her knees actually buckled a little bit against Caius’s legs.

Theron was incredible. He didn’t look, but he felt exactly like he was made of solid, dense wood. He was growing way too fast. He was a hybrid baby. He had the soft, squishy appearance of a human infant, but his underlying bones and muscles belonged to a purebred Beastworld apex predator.

She shifted his weight onto her hip. She breathed. She was just a small, fragile human in a weak rabbit body. She didn’t have the physical strength to carry a baby that weighed as much as a boulder.

Theron didn’t notice her struggle at all. He just grabbed a fistful of her silver hair and buried his face happily in her neck. He smelled exactly like warm milk and sleep.

Rue patted his thick back. "You are getting way too big for me," she whispered.

Theron pulled his round head back. He looked at her with very wide eyes. His tiny nose scrunched up tight. His little mouth opened too wide.

He sneezed loudly right into the quiet cabin.

It was a huge, full-body sneeze. It shook his entire frame.

Right in the middle of the sneeze, a bright, flashing light caught Rue’s eye.

She froze. She stared down at his chubby little arm.

The soft, pale skin on his right forearm was totally gone. A tiny patch of shimmering golden scales replaced it. They rippled beautifully under the warm green candlelight. They looked exactly like solid, polished gold. They were thick, incredibly sharp, and highly dangerous.

The scales shifted and caught the light every single time he moved his tiny wrist.

Rue stopped breathing. Her long rabbit ears flattened against her skull in pure, silent shock. She traced a single finger over the golden patch. The scales felt hard and smooth under her fingertips.

Caius leaned forward in his wooden chair. The Serpent Alpha stared directly at the tiny arm.

He didn’t look worried at all. He looked overwhelmingly proud. His golden eyes shined with undeniable victory. His black tail slapped the floor again, totally unable to contain his excitement. His son was finally showing his true bloodline. He was a snake.

Rue stared at the beautiful, terrifying scales. Her brain scrambled wildly to make sense of the situation.

She realised exactly what was happening. Her hybrid baby was hitting his first Beastworld transformation. He wasn’t just a squishy toddler anymore. He was actively shifting into a deadly creature.

She felt a cold, sharp spike of panic hit her stomach. She was unprepared for the biology involved. She didn’t know how to raise a snake. She didn’t know how to handle shedding skin, or venom glands, or whatever else came with being a giant serpent. She was a rabbit. She just wanted to eat sweet fruit and hide in small, safe spaces.

She felt like this was all because of extreme maternal anxiety. She tried very hard to keep her face totally blank. She didn’t want to ruin Caius’s happy moment.

She hugged Theron a little tighter.

Right in the middle of her silent, internal panic, a bright blue screen flashed right in front of her face. It blocked her view of the babies and her mates.

[Your First Child is going through his first age transformation; help him through it.]