Chapter 147: Episode 146: He is so cute
"Are you sleepy?" Axel asks.
His deep voice pulls Rue out of a quiet daydream. She sits on the large woven rug in the main living hall. The rug feels rough but warm under her bare legs. She stares blindly into the stone hearth.
The bright orange flames dance and pop over the dry wood. The heat feels amazing on her sore joints. Her body still aches from giving birth. Her lower back pulses with a dull pain every time she stands up too fast.
She blinks her heavy pink eyes. She nods slowly. "Yes."
She murmurs the word into the quiet room. The long afternoon drained the last drops of energy from her soft bones. Knox took little Seika to the nursery an hour ago to let Rue rest. The house finally settled into a deep, lazy silence. No toddlers babbling. No baby crying. Just the crackle of the fire.
Axel shifts his weight on the floorboards. He moves right behind her. He doesn’t ask for permission. He just wraps his broad chest around her back. He stretches his long muscular legs out on either side of her hips. He acts like a giant, warm shield. He traps the heat from the roaring fire right around them.
Rue leans back. She lets her tired spine rest against his solid stomach. His natural body heat sinks into her skin, chasing away the chill that always bothers her rabbit biology. She rests her head on his shoulder. His scent wraps around her like a thick blanket. He smells like pine needles, fresh dirt, and cold winter snow. It is a wild scent, but it makes her feel safe.
She lets her eyes flutter shut. The slow, steady rhythm of his heartbeat acts like a lullaby.
Axel watches her face. He doesn’t move a single muscle. He holds his breath so he won’t disturb her rest. He admires her a little more. He traces the soft curve of her jaw with his sharp blue eyes. He looks at her long silver lashes resting gently against her pale cheeks. He watches her soft rabbit ears twitch once before relaxing flat against her hair.
He feels a fierce, possessive warmth bloom in his chest. He spent his youth fighting for scraps of food in the freezing North. He thought a mate meant a strong, violent woman who could hunt alongside him and bite enemies. He never expected a fragile girl from another world. He never expected to find so much pure joy in just holding someone still.
He runs a rough hand down her arm. He pulls the edge of a thick fur blanket over her knees to keep the draft away. He adjusts the edge so it covers her cold toes.
His own eyelids start to feel heavy. The heat from the fire works on his tired muscles too. He spent the morning hunting a wild boar and the afternoon studying her medical needs. He rests his chin softly on the top of her head. He breathes in the sweet scent of her hair. He closes his eyes just for a second. He just wants to rest them for one minute.
He doesn’t know he is falling asleep too. The wild Northern wolf lets his heavy guard drop. He sinks into the quiet dark, holding his soft rabbit tight against his chest.
The heavy wooden front door clicks open.
Drax steps into the main hall first. The Dragon King brings a rush of cool evening air inside with him. He wipes dirt from his dark leather boots on the entry mat. Caius glides in right behind him. The Serpent Alpha carries a woven basket of fresh wild herbs he gathered from the swamp edge.
They both freeze.
Drax raises a large hand. He stops Caius from walking further into the room.
The living hall is bathed in dim, orange firelight. In the center of the large rug, Axel and Rue sleep soundly.
Axel has his massive arms wrapped securely around her waist. His face is buried deep in her silver hair. His chest rises and falls in a deep, even rhythm. Rue looks tiny against his massive frame. She is curled up into a soft ball. Her hands rest flat against his forearm, holding him close even in her sleep.
Caius sets his basket on the wooden dining table. He doesn’t make a sound. He looks at the sleeping pair.
The Serpent Alpha tilts his head. He usually finds Axel annoying. The wolf is loud. He tracks mud through the clean house. He picks fights over silly things. He acts like a brute. But looking at them right now, Caius understands.
Rue needs Axel.
She needs Drax for his steady, ancient shelter. She needs Caius for his cold logic and healing hands. She needs Knox for his fierce, protectiveness.
But she needs Axel’s specific brand of loyal affection. The wolf doesn’t overthink things. He doesn’t plot or scheme. He just loves her with a raw, physical devotion. He acts like a giant, happy dog who just wants to sit at her feet and keep her warm. He offers a simple, uncomplicated peace that grounds her busy, anxious mind. He makes her laugh when the world gets too scary.
Drax watches them too. The Dragon King leans against the heavy doorframe. A soft, knowing smile touches his sharp face. He sees the way Rue relaxes her shoulders in Axel’s grip. He knows her muscles always stay a little tense around the rest of them. She always worries she might break. But with the wolf, she just lets go. She trusts him with her fragile bones.
Drax turns his head. He meets Caius’s glowing golden eyes. The dragon gives a single, silent nod.
They don’t interrupt. They don’t wake the sleeping pair. They don’t tease the wolf for acting soft.
Caius turns around and glides quietly into the kitchen to wash his green herbs. Drax walks down the hall to check on the toddlers in the nursery. They leave the living hall to the wolf and his mate.
Time drifts away. The fire slowly burns down to glowing red coals. The heat fades into a pleasant warmth.
Rue stirs.
She feels a heavy weight across her stomach. She blinks her pink eyes open. The room is much darker now. The bright orange light is gone. The deep purple shadows of the early evening fill the corners of the stone hall.
She tries to shift her legs. The heavy weight holds her down.
She looks down. Axel’s thick arm is clamped tight around her waist. He holds her like a prized treasure he refuses to share with the world. She tilts her head back slowly.
Axel is fast asleep. His mouth hangs open just a tiny bit. A soft, rumbling snore vibrates right out of his chest. The sound rattles gently against her spine. His messy white hair sticks up in all directions. He looks nothing like a terrifying Northern warlord right now. He looks like a big, tired boy who played too hard in the woods.
Rue stays perfectly still. She doesn’t want to wake him.
She just watches his face. She traces the faint scars crossing his jawline with her eyes. She remembers how he brushed her hair this morning. She remembers how gentle his rough hands felt against her scalp. She remembers how he promised to bake her a strange, salty bread from Earth just to make her smile.
A sudden, sharp realization hits her right in the chest.
She genuinely loves him.
It isn’t just the mate bond forcing her to care. It isn’t just gratitude for a safe place to sleep. She loves the loud, arrogant wolf. She loves his silly jokes. She loves his sudden, fierce protectiveness. She loves the way he studies human anatomy just to rub her sore shoulders.
She always thought of him as the annoying brother of the pack. The one who brought chaos. Now, she sees he is the glue holding her happiness together. He gives her room to breathe. He makes her feel normal. He doesn’t treat her like a fragile glass doll all the time. He treats her like a real person.
He lets out another loud snore. He twitches in his sleep, pulling her even closer into his warm chest. His nose bumps against the back of her neck. He mumbles something quiet in his sleep and buries his face deeper into her hair.
Rue feels a warm, bubbly laugh rise up in her throat. She covers her mouth with both hands to keep the sound quiet. She feels safe. She feels perfectly at home in this wild, crazy world.
She looks at his sleeping face one more time. The tough warrior is dead to the world, snoring softly against her shoulder.
She chuckles, "He is so cute."