Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 31: Episode : I will not mate here!

Roxy flinched, stepping back. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

WHOOSH.

Kaelen moved faster than sound. In a blur, he backhanded her with enough force to send her skidding across the mud.

The female whimpered, cowering in the dirt, but her eyes were still fixed on the bag.

Kaelen stood over her, his chest heaving, his claws extending. Growling at her with fury, how could these mutts dare to touch what was his?

Even if he didn’t claim her yet, this was his mate. He wasn’t going to let anyone sully his mate.

A/N: Yet you are treating her like a slave, laughs

"You dare?" Kaelen roared, his voice echoing off trees. "You dare? You dare show disrespect to the King’s guest?"

He raised his hand, his claws gleaming. He was going to kill her. He was going to make an example of her to establish dominance.

"NO!"

Roxy moved. Her heart beating wildly in her chest, the last thing she wanted to see was blood immediately she arrived here.

She threw herself between the Wolf King and the cowering female, spreading her arms wide. Her heavy robe billowed around her.

Kaelen froze, his claws inches from Roxy’s face. He looked at her in shock. "Move, Dragon Queen. She challenged my authority. She threatened you."

"She’s hungry, you moron!" Roxy screamed, slapping his hand away. "She smelled the food! She didn’t want to hurt me; she wanted to eat! And you want to kill her for it?"

"It is the law of the pack," Kaelen growled, though he lowered his hand slightly, confused by her ferocity. "Discipline must be—"

"Screw your law!" Roxy snapped. "If you kill your pack every time they get hungry, you won’t have a pack left to rule! You want to save your bloodline? Start by feeding the potential mothers!"

She shouldn’t be screaming, but fuck her survival instinct; she couldn’t stand aside and watch someone get killed in front of her.

She spun around, turning her back on the predator who could snap her neck like a twig. She knelt in the mud beside the terrified female wolf.

The female flinched, expecting a blow.

"It’s okay," Roxy whispered, her voice softening instantly. "I’m not going to hit you. You just have bad manners."

She reached into her bag. The System inventory flickered.

[Item Retrieved: Beast-Mom Recovery Meal (Premium Beef Stew & Bread)].

She popped the lid.

The smell exploded into the damp air: rich, savory tomato broth, tender chunks of beef, herbs, and freshly baked bread.

A collective gasp went through the courtyard. Every wolf who stood at the side stepped forward, their noses twitching.

Roxy held the container out to the female. "Eat."

The female looked at Kaelen, terrified.

"I said eat!" Roxy barked, using her Commanding Tone.

The female grabbed the container with trembling hands and shoveled the food into her mouth. She didn’t chew; she inhaled it. Tears streamed down her face as the warmth hit her empty belly.

"More," Roxy muttered, standing up. She looked at the circle of starving wolves surrounding them.

She reached into the bag again. And again. And again.

"You!" She pointed at a gaunt male. "Catch." She tossed a container.

"You with the limp! Get over here!"

She was emptying her inventory. It was reckless, and she knew that her account balance was going to cry. But she didn’t care.

Kaelen watched, stunned. He stood frozen, watching this small, human female command his pack. She wasn’t fighting them, and she wasn’t cowering.

She was feeding them.

The wolves looked at her not with the hunger of predators looking at prey, but with the reverence of the starving looking at a savior.

"You..." Kaelen whispered, stepping up behind her. "Where did you get this? How?"

Roxy spun around, shoving a container of stew into his chest.

"Don’t ask questions," she snapped, wiping mud from her cheek. "Just eat. And get me a chair. If I have to stand in this mud one more minute, I’m going to kill you."

[TheSassyGoddess applauds. That’s how you handle an unruly dog.]

Kaelen looked at the stew. He looked at his pack, who were licking the bowls clean. He looked at Roxy, who was glaring at him with all the fire of a dragon.

He didn’t know how to respond; he just took a bite.

And for the first time in ten years, the Wolf pack felt a little less cold. His eyes watered, and the big wolf was about to spill actual tears from his eyes.

Roxy’s eyes softened, "Isn’t it delicious?"

He didn’t know what delicious meant; all he knew was that it was nice. He nodded. After Roxy had finished feeding the wolves. Kaelan directed her back to his own place.

The Wolf King’s private chambers were located at the very top of the twisted root fortress. To get there, Roxy had to climb a spiral staircase made of uneven, slippery stone that smelled faintly of mildew and despair.

When Kaelen pushed aside a curtain of vines that covered a large cave, she jolted out of surprise. They always seemed to surprise her at every turn.

There was so much work to do.

She blinked. She looked left. She looked right.

"You have got to be kidding me," she deadpanned.

The room was large, she would give him that. But that was the only nice thing she could say. The walls were bare, jagged grey stone that seeped moisture like a sweating cheese.

The floor was dirty. The windows were just holes. And the furniture?

A single pile of mangy furs in the corner. That was it. No table. No chair. Just a sad, grey nest that looked like it hosted a family of raccoons.

"This is it?" Roxy asked, her voice echoing in the emptiness. "This is the King’s home? I’ve seen prison cells with better feng shui."

Kaelen walked past her, closing the vines shut, sealing them inside. He didn’t seem embarrassed. He seemed focused. Intense.

He began to untie the leather cord holding his fur kilt.

"The pack is fed," Kaelen stated, his voice rough. He turned to face her, his icy blue eyes burning with a desperate, terrifying hunger. "You have proven your worth, Dragon Queen. Now, you fulfill your purpose."

He dropped the furs. He stood there, glorious in his nakedness, lean, corded muscle, pale skin scarred from a thousand battles, and... well, the Wolf King was definitely not lacking in the equipment department.

Damn, what do they feed all these beasts?!

[TheSassyGoddess whistles. It seems the wolves are packing more than just a bite.]

Roxy didn’t even blink. She kept her arms crossed over her robe.

"You breed," Kaelen commanded, taking a step toward her. "Now. The pack needs hope. I need an heir."

He reached for her, expecting fear. Expecting submission.

What he got was a hand in his face.

"Whoa, hold your horses, Clifford," Roxy snapped, stepping back. "Put that thing away. You’re going to catch a cold, and frankly, I’m not in the mood."

Kaelen froze. His brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "Mood? We are not here for ’mood’. We are here for survival. You are fertile. I am the Alpha. This is how it works."

"Yeah, well, I’m updating the software," Roxy said, walking around him to inspect the sad pile of furs. She kicked it with her slipper. Dust motes exploded into the air. "Absolutely not. Look at this place, Kaelen! It’s disgusting."

"It is my home!!" Kaelen snarled, his patience snapping. "It protects us from the wind!"

"It is the wind!" Roxy shouted back, pointing at the hole in the wall. "It’s freezing in here! The floor is dirty! And you..." She spun around, wrinkling her nose exaggeratedly. "You smell like a wet dog."

Kaelen recoiled as if she had slapped him. "Females look at me with awe!"

Yes, because they were dirty themselves.

She had made sure she taught the dragon clan how to use the stream regularly, so now she had to start over with the wolves. She knew this was going to be harder than before.

"You smell like you haven’t seen a bar of soap since the First Age," Roxy countered. "And I am not, I repeat, not, opening my legs on a dirty floor in such a cold place. Do you want your heir to be born with pneumonia?"