Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 350: Episode 348: Ren’s Predicament

Roxy froze, her brilliant green eyes darting between Zarek and the feral beast beside her. The deep, bone-rattling growl continued to vibrate through the mattress, a terrifying, purely instinctual warning from the Fox King.

Ren’s massive jaws were parted, his sharp fangs fully exposed, his posture rigid with an uncompromising possessiveness over her pregnant form.

He didn’t recognize her as his Queen in this state. His failing, desperately draining core had violently stripped away centuries of trickster intellect, leaving behind only the absolute, raw biological imperative to guard the vessel carrying his heir.

"Ren," Roxy whispered, forcing her voice to remain incredibly soft. She didn’t make any sudden movements. She slowly turned her head, keeping her hands entirely visible against the furs. "Baby, it’s me. I am not leaving. But I really, really need to use the bathroom."

The giant beast’s ears twitched. The familiar, soothing cadence of her voice seemed to pierce through the heavy, feral fog consuming his mind.

The terrifying growl slowly, gradually began to subside, transforming into a low, anxious whine. The massive fox didn’t shift back into his humanoid form, but the aggressive tension bled out of his thick muscles. He uncoiled his nine heavy tails, giving her physical space.

Roxy let out a shaky breath of relief. She slowly swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her bare feet touching the cold stone floorboards.

She stood up. Zarek did not move from his corner, and he did not issue another warning. The Dragon King simply watched with a grim, heavy resignation as Roxy took a cautious step toward the en-suite bathroom.

But she wasn’t alone.

The moment Roxy moved, the giant fox immediately hopped down from the towering mattress. The sheer weight of his beast form made the floorboards groan. He shadowed her instantly, his massive red shoulder brushing against her hip as he escorted her, refusing to let her be more than an inch away from his protection.

Roxy pushed the bathroom door open, the giant beast squeezing his massive frame through the threshold right behind her.

She barely made it to the porcelain sink before the violent, sudden wave of morning sickness hit her.

Roxy collapsed over the basin, her hands gripping the cold porcelain edges as her stomach violently heaved. The pregnancy was already taking a brutal physical toll on her body. She gagged, throwing up the remnants of her dinner from the night before, her green eyes squeezing shut in agony.

Behind her, Ren let out a sharp, devastated whine. The giant fox pushed his massive head forward, resting his heavy chin gently against her trembling back. He nudged her spine with his wet nose, letting out a series of distressed, high-pitched whimpers, entirely unable to cure the biological sickness but desperate to offer comfort.

"I’m okay, baby," Roxy gasped weakly, turning on the silver taps to wash her mouth out. "I’m okay. It’s just the baby."

She stripped off her sleeping robe, shivering in the cool air, and stepped into the sprawling, open-stone shower. She desperately needed to wash the cold sweat and exhaustion from her skin. The warm water cascaded over her, providing a brief, beautiful moment of relief.

Through the steam, she looked at the colossal beast sitting obediently just outside the spray. Ren’s thick red fur was very clean but just having him sit there doesn’t sit with her, she wanted him to bathe with her..

"Shift, Ren," Roxy urged softly, leaning against the wet stone wall. "Please. Shift back so I can clean you."

The Fox King just sat there. His vibrant green eyes stared blankly through the steam, tracking her every movement with obsessive vigilance. It was completely useless. It was exactly like talking to a brick wall.

He didn’t offer a cocky smirk. He just blinked, his massive tails wrapping neatly around his front paws.

A heavy, suffocating knot of worry tightened in Roxy’s chest. She quickly finished cleaning herself, wrapping a thick towel around her body.

The bizarre, suffocating dynamic persisted throughout the entire day.

When Roxy finally emerged into the main living areas of the Manor, her mates offered no explanation, and more terrifyingly, no intervention. Syris, Torian, and Caspian watched the giant red fox follow their Queen with silent, grim acceptance.

None of them teased Ren for being stuck in his beast form. None of them demanded he shift to help with the pack duties. They treated the feral beast like there was nothing wrong, and that made Roxy want to scream.

By midday, the children were completely, entirely obsessed with their new technological gadgets. In the grand dining hall, the massive wooden table was set with roasted meats, fresh fruits, and warm bread, but the atmosphere was a digital nightmare.

Axel and Onyx, their matching blue eyes glued entirely to their glowing screens, were aggressively tapping on their tablets, entirely ignoring their plates.

Iris was sitting next to them, her beautiful violet eyes wide as she watched a colorful animation play out on her own device, a piece of bread hanging forgotten from her mouth.

Even Tanith, whose bright green eyes usually scanned the room for trouble, was leaning heavily over the table, desperately trying to poke at the screen of Drax’s tablet, since she couldn’t use hers.

Drax, for his part, was attempting to be the responsible older brother, holding his tablet up high out of the toddler’s reach, his green eyes flashing with annoyance.

"Give it back!" Tanith demanded, her transparent scales shimmering as she reached up.

"No, you are going to delete my files!" Drax argued.

He was doing some really important research.

"Enough!" Roxy finally snapped, she slammed her hand down on the heavy wooden table. "Axel! Onyx! Iris! Put those tablets face down right this instant. We do not use screens when we are eating as a family. Turn them off!"

She then glared at Drax too. "Set it down too, Drax. You are meant to be the mature one here."

The triplets violently jumped. Axel and Onyx immediately slapped their tablets face down onto the wood, their blue eyes wide with innocent guilt. Iris quickly shoved hers beneath her napkin.

"Sorry mother," Drax started and the triplets did the same thing. Tanith lowered her head and continued eating.

Normally, this would be the exact moment the trickster would intervene. Ren would usually cast a joke, or he would offer a wicked, sarcastic comment about her terrifying parenting skills to lighten the mood.

Roxy instinctively turned her head, waiting for the Fox King’s witty remark.

But there was nothing.

Sitting directly behind her wooden chair, taking up a massive portion of the dining hall floor, the giant red fox simply stared blankly ahead. He didn’t even flick an ear at her scolding. He just sat there, a massive, silent, furry sentinel, completely detached from the joy and chaos of his family.

Roxy swallowed hard, her appetite completely vanishing.

Later that afternoon, needing a distraction from the crushing anxiety, Roxy retreated to the kitchens to assist Kaelen.

The Wolf Alpha was currently locked in a deeply serious, highly intense standoff with the new stainless-steel air fryer. Kaelen’s icy blue eyes were narrowed in sheer concentration as he meticulously chopped a massive slab of venison, attempting to figure out the exact temperature settings the ’financegod’ had provided in the manual.

"You have to press the pre-heat button first, Kaelen," Roxy instructed gently, stepping up beside the massive wooden chopping block.

"This is a new way to roast meat, my Queen," Kaelen grumbled, his deep voice vibrating with mild frustration as he poked the digital display with a thick, clawed finger.

But Roxy could barely focus on the cooking lesson.

The kitchen was entirely too small for a colossal, nine-tailed beast, but Ren absolutely refused to wait in the hallway. The giant red fox had squeezed himself between the central island and the massive stone hearth, his massive bulk practically pinning Roxy against the counter.

He followed her every single step. If she moved to the sink to wash a knife, he moved with her. If she stepped back to check the cupboards, his heavy snout bumped against her hip.

Kaelen didn’t complain about the shedding fur near his pristine ingredients. The Wolf Alpha just carefully, respectfully stepped around the massive beast, his icy blue eyes completely avoiding Roxy’s desperate, questioning gaze.

The absolute, unquestioning compliance of her mates was driving her insane.

Roxy couldn’t take it anymore. The terrifying reality of his condition was screaming at her, completely unignorable.

She abandoned the kitchen towel on the counter. She turned around, completely ignoring Kaelen, and dropped down to her knees right in the middle of the kitchen floor.

The giant fox immediately lowered his massive head, his wet black nose bumping gently against her collarbone as he let out a soft, questioning breath.

Roxy reached up, her small hands sinking deep into the thick, matted red fur on either side of his massive face. She forced the beast to look at her. She stared directly into his vibrant green eyes, searching desperately for the cocky, arrogant trickster she loved.

But the green pools were cloudy. Exhausted.

The truth finally clicked into place in her mind. It wasn’t that the Fox King was stubbornly refusing to shift back to human form to prove a point, or to protect her in a feral state.

"Ren," Roxy whispered, her hands trembled against his warm jaw. "Is it that you can’t shift?"