Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

"Silly baby," she chuckles, "you are already mine..."

Rue turns in her wooden chair. She tilts her face up toward the tall white wolf. She presses her soft lips against his jaw in a sweet, lingering kiss.

The gentle touch breaks something deep inside the warrior. Axel lets out a harsh, ragged growl. He almost turns feral right there in the kitchen. His large hand snaps up, grabbing the back of her neck with a fierce, possessive grip.

Thick blue veins bulge along his forearms, straining against his tanned skin. He crushes his mouth down against hers. He kisses her rough and hard, demanding all her warmth. His bright blue eyes narrow in a mad, hungry way.

The wild beast inside him wants to consume her right on the spot.

Rue doesn’t pull away. She just chuckles against his lips. She brings her small hands up to his broad chest and pecks him right on his scarred cheek next.

That simple, innocent gesture acts like cold water on a hot fire. The wild madness drains straight out of his eyes. Axel blinks, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. He loosens his tight grip on her neck, turning his rough touch into a soft caress. He rests his forehead against hers, letting out a long sigh.

Axel takes over her care for the day. He refuses to let anyone else near her. He tells Knox to go chop wood in the yard. He tells Caius to go read his thick books in the main hall. The bedroom belongs to the wolf today.

He guides Rue back to the giant bed. He pulls the thick gray blankets back and helps her settle into the soft pillows. He walks over to the wooden table and brings back a large wooden bowl. It holds fresh green grapes, sliced yellow apples, and sweet red berries. He sits on the very edge of the mattress.

He picks up a juicy berry and holds it to her lips. Rue rests back against the pillows, letting him feed her the sweet fruits piece by piece. She eats the crisp apples and the cold grapes while he watches her with soft, devoted eyes. He makes sure she finishes half the bowl before he sets it aside on the nightstand.

When she finishes eating, he notices she keeps shifting her weight. Her face tightens with a small wince.

"Turn around," Axel murmurs softly.

Rue obeys, shifting onto her side. Axel reaches out and massages her stiff shoulders. His strong hands find the tight knots hidden deep in her upper back. He kneads the sore muscles with a perfect, steady pressure. The dull ache from carrying a newborn melts right out of her bones. She lets out a long, happy sigh, resting her cheek on her hand.

They spend hours just talking. The morning sun climbs high in the sky, warming the stone walls of the bedroom. They talk about the weather outside, the changing seasons in the North, and the quiet life they are building together.

Even when Seika wakes up crying for milk, the easy conversation doesn’t stop. Rue scoops the tiny baby up from the wooden crib. She brings her back to the bed and settles the hungry baby against her chest. Seika drinks eagerly, her tiny golden eyes fluttering shut. Axel doesn’t leave the room to give them privacy. He stays right beside them on the mattress. He watches the baby eat, his handsome face full of quiet wonder.

"My mother used to sing weird songs to us," Axel says out of nowhere. He rests his chin on his hands, looking at Rue’s silver hair. "She said they were from her old home. A place called Earth."

Rue freezes. Her breath catches right in her throat. She always kept her past a strict secret. She was terrified these proud warlords would think she was crazy or cursed if she talked about her old world.

"She was from Earth?" Rue asks. Her voice shakes just a bit.

Axel nods. "Yes. She always talked about giant metal buildings reaching into the clouds. She talked about loud machines and flying metal birds. We thought they were just crazy fairy tales. We thought the magic made her mind soft."

Rue lets out a huge breath. A heavy weight falls right off her tired shoulders. She isn’t alone. She isn’t a freak of nature. The legendary Roxy came from the exact same place.

"I am from Earth too," Rue admits softly.

Axel leans forward. He doesn’t look shocked or scared. He looks fascinated. He wants to know everything about her.

Rue tells him about her past life in New York. She keeps the hospital parts locked away. She leaves out the sickness, the sterile white walls, the awful medicine, and the constant pain. She just wants to share the good memories.

She tells him about the bright yellow taxis racing down crowded streets. She describes the giant glowing signs in Times Square that lit up the dark night sky. She tells him about Central Park, a big patch of green grass and tall trees hidden right in the middle of a loud concrete jungle.

Axel listens to every word like it’s a sacred text. He hangs onto her voice. He tries to picture the strange, loud world she came from.

"You had millions of people living in one single pack?" Axel asks, his brow furrowed in deep confusion. "How did you hunt? How did you establish territory without fighting every single day? Did the strong eat the weak?"

Rue laughs loudly. The happy sound wakes Seika up a bit, but the baby just grumbles and goes right back to drinking.

"We didn’t hunt," Rue explains, shaking her head. "We bought food with paper money. People worked jobs to earn the paper, and then traded it for whatever they needed. My favorite thing was the street food. People parked tiny metal carts on the sidewalk and sold warm meals to anyone walking by."

Axel tilts his head, trying to imagine a metal cart of food. "What did they sell?"

"Hot dogs with spicy yellow mustard," Rue sighs, her mouth watering at the old memory. "Roasted peanuts coated in sweet sugar. And giant, salty pretzels. Those were the absolute best. Especially in the winter when the snow fell and the steam rose up from the carts."

"What is a pretzel?" Axel asks.

Rue smiles, thinking about the warm, doughy treat. "It is soft bread twisted into a big knot. It has thick chunks of white salt baked right on top. You buy it warm in a small paper bag. You eat it with your hands while walking down the street. It is chewy and salty and perfect."

Axel pictures the twisted bread in his mind. He looks at Rue’s bright pink eyes. He loves seeing her so happy and relaxed. He loves hearing the pure joy in her voice when she talks about her old home. He wants to bring a piece of that happiness right here to the Beastworld.

"I will make you one," Axel declares firmly.

Rue blinks. "What?"

"I will make this pretzel," Axel says. He nods his head, looking very serious. "I will use the best Beastworld flour from the storage room. I will hike to the western caves and find thick salt rocks. I will twist the dough into a giant knot for you. I will bake it in the hot hearth until it is warm and perfect."

Rue stares at him. She pictures the fierce, bloodthirsty Northern warlord wearing a tiny apron. She pictures him covered in white flour, growling at a bowl of dough, trying to twist bread into a perfect shape.

Then, she starts laughing.

She laughs so hard her stomach aches. Her shoulders shake with silent giggles. Seika loses her latch and lets out a confused, angry squeak, waving her tiny fists in the air. Rue fixes the baby quickly, still giggling, wiping a happy tear from her pink eye. She tries to calm down, but Axel’s serious face just makes the whole thing funnier.

Axel makes a promise to recreate a New York pretzel using Beastworld flour, making Rue laugh until her sides hurt.

"You can’t possibly do that."