Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 159: Episode : Can I have you now?

The garden was silent, save for the ragged breathing of the Fox King. Ren lay in Roxy’s arms, his body heavy and feverish, the black veins on his chest pulsing in an almost disgusting way.

"I can fix this," Roxy said again, her voice steady.

Ren let out a weak, bitter chuckle. "You cannot fix a soul that has been eaten, Roxy. I am hollow."

"You’re not hollow," Roxy corrected, brushing a damp strand of hair from his forehead. "You’re just running on empty batteries. And lucky for you, I’m a generator."

Fucking hell, I was comparing myself to a damn machine.

She closed her eyes, trying to hold off the urge to laugh. That was damn cringey.

This ’Soul Tether’... feeding him my vitality. Be straight with me. Is this like those wuxia novels? Is this Dual Cultivation?

[System Query: Analyzed.]

[Answer: Affirmative. By exchanging bodily fluids and intimacy, your High-Tier Vitality will flow into his Mana Circuits, flushing out the necrosis and refilling his reserves. Think of it as jump-starting a car, but the jumper cables are... well, you.]

What did I even expect?

She laughs internally, rolling her eyes...

Roxy felt her cheeks heat up when she returned her gaze to him. Ren was watching her, his violet eyes dim and resigned.

"Ren," Roxy said, shifting so she could adjust their position; her injuries were aching. "Listen to me. I have a solution. But you have to trust me, and you have to do exactly what I say."

"I would give you my kingdom if you asked," Ren whispered. "What must I do?"

"We have to be close," Roxy explained, framing his face with her hands, as he sat up. "Very close. We need to kiss. A lot. And touch. I need to transfer my energy to you. We start slow... just contact... until your body is strong enough for... everything else."

Ren blinked. He didn’t expect this.

"You mean..." Ren stammered, hope warring with disbelief. "You would share your bed with a dying thing? You would let me... touch you, even after I hurt you?"

"I insist on it," Roxy smiled softly.

She didn’t wait for him to argue. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his.

It wasn’t a peck. It was deep and deliberate. Ren gasped against her mouth.

He felt it instantly. It was like drinking liquid sunlight. A jolt of pure, warm power rushed into his mouth, flooding down his throat and into his chest. It hit the cold, rotting void in his heart and burned.

But it was a good burn. It was the burn of circulation returning to a frozen limb.

He gripped her waist, his claws digging into the fabric of her dress, pulling her closer. He kissed her back desperately, hungry for the life she was pouring into him.

When they pulled apart, breathless, the effect was visible.

The black veins on his neck had retreated an inch. The grey pallor of his skin was flushed with a faint, healthy pink.

Ren looked at his hands. They weren’t shaking.

He looked at Roxy. She wasn’t disgusted. She was smiling, wiping a smudge of dirt from his cheek.

"See?" Roxy grinned. "I told you. I could help you."

And that wasn’t bad, was it?

Ren stared at her for a long second. Then, he threw his head back and laughed. It was a loud, clear sound.

"I am cursed," Ren declared, pulling her into a crushing hug, burying his face in her neck. "But by the Ancestors, I am blessed to have found you."

****

Three Weeks Later.

"Hold the brush loosely, Axel," Ren instructed, his voice patient and melodious. "It is not a dagger. You do not stab the paper; you should treat it well."

Ren stood at the front of the room. His skin was luminous, his violet eyes sparkled with mischief, and one of his tails was out, waving lazily behind him as he moved.

He wore robes of teal and silver, looking every inch the healthy, arrogant, beautiful King he was meant to be.

"Like this!" Iris chirped, swirling her brush across the parchment.

"Excellent, Iris," Ren praised, patting her head. "You are a good wolf."

"It’s a potato!" Iris corrected.

"A magnificent potato," Ren agreed smoothly.

In the back of the room, Drax was reading a book on advanced geometry that Ren had transcribed from the last human that taught them, while Onyx was chewing on an inkstick.

Leaning against the doorframe, Zarek and Torian watched the scene.

"He is wearing perfume again," Zarek grunted, crossing his massive arms. "The house smells like jasmine."

"He is useful," Torian admitted grudgingly, watching Iris beam at the Fox. "The pups are learning. And he keeps them quiet for three hours a day. That gives me nap time."

"And Roxy seems... happier," Kaelen added, joining them. He watched Ren conjure a small illusion of a dancing bird to entertain Onyx. "Her stress is lower. She sleeps a lot these days, though."

They were annoyed, certainly. Sharing their mate with a fifth male, especially a Fox, scratched at their possessive instincts. But they couldn’t deny the change. Ren filled the gaps they couldn’t.

He taught art, diplomacy, and letters. He mediated arguments. He made Roxy laugh when the weight of leadership got too heavy.

And most importantly, he was alive. Whatever that meant for Roxy.

That evening, the dinner hall was filled with the clatter of silverware and the smell of roasted meat.

The children were learning how to use cutlery, since Roxy insisted on teaching them how to use them.

It was a family dinner. Roxy sat at the head of the table. To her right sat Zarek and Syris, between them sat Tanith in her stroller, designed by Ren and built by Syris. It was made of lightweight iron-wood, lined with shock-absorbing slime-cushions, and draped in gold-threaded silk.

To her left, Torian and Kaelen were sitting with Iris in between them. And at the foot of the table sat Ren with Drax and the twin boys.

"Open wide for the airplane," Syris said calmly, holding a spoon of mashed vegetables toward the stroller.

Inside, Tanith sat like a queen, her white scales glittering. She opened her mouth, accepted the spoon, and looked at her father with serious, vertical-slit eyes.

"She is so cute," Syris noted with pride.

"She eats better than Onyx," Kaelen sighed, pulling a chicken leg out of Onyx’s ear. "Boy, food goes in the mouth."

"Pass the wine," Ren said, using a telekinetic wind to float the carafe down the table. "And Torian, stop feeding the dog under the table. Reika is getting fat."

"She is bulking!" Torian defended, slipping a piece of steak to the wolf pup. The wolf bolted out of the table immediately, running back to its mother.

The girl pup came to see Onyx and Axel, but got mesmerized by food, and Torian had gotten a habit of feeding her every time she came.

She saw Zarek cutting meat for Drax. She saw Syris wiping Tanith’s chin. She saw Kaelen wrestling the triplets. She saw Ren pouring wine for Torian with a cheeky wink, only for Torian to cringe away in disgust.

She felt a swell of emotion so strong it almost choked her.

I hope we can just remain like this.

Dinner wound down. The pups were carried off to bed by Kaelen and Zarek. Syris took Tanith to the nursery for her humidity treatment. Torian went to ’check the perimeter’ (which meant doing laps to burn off calories).

Ren stood up. He walked to the head of the table, where Roxy was finishing her wine.

He looked healthy. Vibrant. The black veins were gone, replaced by smooth, pale skin. But his eyes were dark with a different kind of hunger.

"The children are asleep," Ren murmured, extending a hand. "And the other Kings are occupied."

Roxy took his hand. "Are they?"

"They know," Ren said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "They have ceded the night to me."

"When did they start liking you so much?" Roxy mused; she couldn’t stop the heat creeping to her cheeks.

"Well, they have to make sacrifices," he grunted as he pulled her up. He walked her straight to the Master Suite.

The heavy doors clicked shut behind them, locking out the world. He backed her up until her back hit the cool wall near the fireplace. He planted his hands on either side of her head, caging her in.

He looked down at her. The playfulness was gone. In its place was the raw, primal desire of a man who had been starved for a lifetime and finally had the feast in front of him.

"Three weeks," Ren growled, leaning down to nuzzle her neck, inhaling her scent deeply. "Three weeks of kissing. Three weeks of holding your hand. Three weeks of sleeping beside you and only stealing warmth."

He pressed his hips against hers. Roxy gasped. There was no question about his physical recovery. He was hard, hot, and demanding.

"You said I needed to be strong enough," Ren whispered against her ear, his teeth grazing her lobe. "My heart beats like a war drum, Roxy. My veins are clear. My mana is full."

He pulled back to look her in the eye. His violet eyes were swirling with lust and adoration.

"I have been a very patient patient," Ren smirked, though his breath was ragged. "But I think the treatment plan needs to escalate."

He slid his knee between hers, hitching her thigh up around his waist.

"I can’t wait anymore," Ren said, capturing her lips in a hot kiss before pulling back just an inch. "Can I have you now?"