Chapter 127: Episode126: What would they do?
Rue chuckles. "Don’t bite your father like that anymore," Rue warned as she patted Theron’s silver snake head.
Axel didn’t look angry at all. The white wolf just pulled his hand back. He sucked the tiny drops of blood off his index finger. He sat straight down on the woven rug next to her feet. He offered a bright, genuine smile.
He respected a strong bite. He actually looked proud that the tiny snake defended his territory so well against a predator.
Theron hissed one tiny, final warning at the wolf. Then the silver snake buried his cold head back under Rue’s soft chin. The baby boy fell asleep almost instantly. Defending his fragile mother was hard work.
The afternoon faded into evening. The b sun dipped behind the tall green pine trees outside the window. The sky turned a deep, dark purple. The men finished their daily chores. Knox carried Theron and Mochi carefully to their beds in the small nursery room.
Later that night, Rue sat on the porch.
She needed the fresh air. The new stone house was absolutely huge, but she still felt trapped by her own body. She wore a thick woollen blanket wrapped around her thin shoulders. She sat in a wide wooden chair Knox built perfectly for her pregnant frame.
She looked directly up at the dark sky. The bright stars looked exactly like spilt sugar across a black table. She watched them shine. She sat still and started overthinking absolutely everything.
The cool wind brushed gently against her flushed cheeks. The intense pregnancy fever made her pale skin run hot all day long. The cold night air felt like absolute heaven. She rested both of her small hands directly on top of her belly. The panther cub inside her was finally sleeping. Her lower ribs ached from the constant, violent kicking she endured all afternoon.
She turned her head very slowly. She looked through the large glass window into the main hall.
The room was bright. The hot fire crackled loudly in the stone hearth. The four men stood gathered around the wooden dining table. They didn’t notice her watching them from the dark porch. They were focused on a huge sheet of rough parchment paper spread across the wood.
They were arguing over the new house blueprints.
Knox pointed a thick, heavily scarred finger directly at the centre of the paper. The giant panther shook his head firmly. He wanted the main hall to be even bigger.
He wanted wooden doors and huge windows to let the b sunlight in. He waved his muscular arms around to show exactly how much space they needed for the kids to run around safely.
Axel leaned over the wooden table. The white wolf disagreed. He crossed his arms tightly over his broad chest. He wanted thicker stone walls. He wanted much smaller windows to keep the freezing winter wind out. He wanted to trap the warm heat inside the house so Rue wouldn’t complain about cold feet in the mornings.
Caius stood perfectly still behind them. The Serpent Alpha held a small wooden cup of hot water. He watched the two loud men argue. He looked calm. His b golden eyes tracked their movements perfectly. He occasionally tapped a specific spot on the paper, showing them the absolute most logical place to build a stone fireplace to maximise the heat.
Drax sat in a tall wooden chair at the far end of the table.
The Dragon King ignored the loud argument. He held a dark piece of black charcoal in his pale hand. He leaned close to the paper. He sketched something with total, perfect focus. He didn’t care about the size of the main hall at all. He didn’t care about the thick walls or the windows.
He was sketching a quiet room.
Rue watched his long fingers move. She knew exactly what he was drawing. He was designing a tiny, isolated room directly connected to their bedroom. A room with thick soundproof walls and soft woven rugs. A room with absolutely no windows.
A room just for her. He knew the loud noise of the growing pack overwhelmed her sometimes. He knew she needed a silent place to hide when she felt scared or exhausted. He was building her a perfect, safe sanctuary.
She watched Drax wipe a small smudge of dark charcoal off his pale cheek.
The true weight of their absolute dedication crashed over her.
It hit her so hard she actually stopped breathing. They weren’t just building a stone house. They were building a future. They were building an actual life perfectly centred around her. They didn’t see her as a temporary guest in this wild world. They saw her as the absolute foundation of their existence.
Her chest tightened.
A wave of pure fear grabbed her heart. It squeezed tightly against her ribs. It wasn’t the fear of a scary monster. It wasn’t the fear of the freezing cold or running out of food. It was the terrifying fear of having something beautiful and knowing she could easily lose it.
She had never felt so much fear since she had decided to free herself from all worry.
She closed her pink eyes tight. She gripped the soft woollen blanket firmly in her small fists. She forced herself to take a deep, shaky breath of the cold air.
What are you doing, Rue?
She opened her eyes and looked back at the warm orange fire inside the house.
Is this not better than dying from cancer?
She remembered the terrible, absolutely crushing loneliness. She spent years wishing for just one single day of real happiness and love.
Now, she had absolutely everything she ever wanted.
She had a strong, healthy rabbit body. She had a silver snake toddler who loved her so much he bit a giant wolf just to protect her. She had a tiny panther cub growing strong inside her stomach. She had four absolutely terrifying men who treated her like she was the single most precious thing in the universe.
The family you always asked for is now yours.
She rested her chin against her chest. She rubbed her round belly very slowly. The thick woollen blanket kept her warm against the evening chill. The cool wind stopped blowing. The night felt peaceful and quiet.
Allow yourself to enjoy yourself.
She forced the fear down into her stomach. She refused to let it win tonight. She didn’t want to ruin this perfect life with her own irrational anxiety. She absolutely deserved to be happy. She deserved to sit on a quiet wooden porch and watch her family argue over thick stone walls. She deserved a quiet room built by a Dragon King.
She took another long, slow breath. The tight feeling in her chest finally started to fade away.
She watched Knox smack Axel firmly on the broad shoulder through the glass. The giant panther laughed loudly. The white wolf shoved him back with a happy grin. Caius just rolled his b golden eyes and took a small sip of his hot water.
Drax didn’t even look up from his charcoal drawing. He just kept working on her safe space.
They were absolutely perfect. They were chaotic, loud, and heavily violent. But they were hers.
She leaned her head directly against the tall wooden back of the chair. She felt tired. The late-stage pregnancy drained absolutely every single drop of energy she had.
She needed to go back inside the warm house and go directly to sleep. She needed to lie flat down in the bed and let them wrap their strong arms around her.
She started to push her body up from the chair.
A dark, quiet thought slipped into her brain. It bypassed her logic. It was a tiny, horrible whisper she absolutely couldn’t silence. The fear wasn’t gone. It was just hiding deep in her mind.
She looked directly at the men laughing in the bright light. They looked strong. They looked so happy and whole. They depended on her for absolute peace. She was the fragile string holding four wild, highly dangerous warlords together in one room.
She stopped moving. She stood still on the cold wooden boards. Her small hands shook just a tiny bit against the woollen blanket.
If I leave one day, what are they going to do?