Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 71: Episode : A Mother’s Wrath

"So when we get to the wolf domain, you behave as you should," Roxy told Syris calmly, not to sound rude.

He didn’t respond, but Roxy knew he heard her perfectly well.

The walk back to the settlement was quiet, mostly because the wolves guarding the perimeter were too confused to speak.

They watched their Queen walk out of the woods covered in dust, followed closely by a massive, half-human snake creature gliding along the ground, carrying a wicker basket of chickens.

He had ended up catching six chickens, more than the three she had caught before. He was faster than her, and Roxy had to beg him not to kill anyone out of hunger.

But to her surprise, he easily complied.

"Is that..." one of the guards whispered to his partner.

"A Serpent," the other replied, gripping his spear. "An enemy."

As they approached the gate, the tension suddenly bloomed. Three guards stepped forward, blocking the path. Their hackles were raised, lips curled back to show white fangs. To them, a Serpent was a predator that ate pups.

"Halt!" the lead guard barked, pointing his spear at Syris’s chest. "Step away from the Queen, crawler."

Syris stopped. He didn’t look threatened; he looked annoyed. His tail gave a lazy flick behind him, cracking a dry branch loudly.

"Move, dog," Syris said flatly. "Or I’ll use your spear as a toothpick."

"Enough," Roxy stepped between them, holding up her hands. She was too tired for a beast war. " Everyone, calm down. Put the weapons away."

"My Queen, he is dangerous," the guard insisted, eyes darting to the massive coils.

"He’s helping me out with dinner," Roxy said, pointing to the basket. "If you kill him, you’re explaining to Kaelen why we aren’t having fried chicken tonight. Do you want to have that conversation?"

Roxy didn’t want to explain to her how this snake was going to be with them for a while.

The guards hesitated. They looked at the snake, then at the basket, then at each other. The threat of disappointing the Alpha King was apparently scarier than a giant snake.

They thought they could handle the snake.

"Open the gate," the guard grumbled, stepping aside but keeping his eyes locked on Syris.

"Behave," Roxy muttered to Syris as they walked through.

"They smell like wet fur," Syris complained, but he followed her.

***

When they reached the main cabin, her two husbands were already waiting at the porch.

Zarek and Kaelen were standing on the porch. Zarek looked bored, leaning against a post with his arms crossed. Kaelen looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel.

They both stared at the dirt-covered Roxy, and then at the Serpent Prince slithering behind her.

"Am I blind? Or am I seeing something that shouldn’t have crossed our territory?" Kaelen said, his voice tight.

"I found chickens," Roxy said, trying to keep her tone casual as she walked up the steps. "And I found... a guest."

"A guest," Kaelen repeated incredulously. He glared at Syris. "Why is the cold-blood holding my basket?"

"He helped," Roxy said. "Syris, put the basket down."

Syris set the basket on the porch floor. He straightened up, looking Zarek in the eye. The size difference was negligible, but the energy was different. Zarek was burning heat; Syris was absolute zero.

"Dragon," Syris nodded, his voice dripping with barely concealed disdain.

"Snake," Zarek replied, sounding entirely unimpressed. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"He stays outside," Kaelen growled, stepping forward. "He does not enter the den."

"I go where she goes," Syris hissed back, his eyes narrowing. "And where the food is."

"You are food," Kaelen snapped, reaching for the knife at his belt.

Sometimes he doesn’t understand how his mate thinks, but it wasn’t her fault. Roxy couldn’t fully control her decisions as much as she would have liked.

If she had, she wouldn’t have given birth to a child for the both of them, or even gotten to run into them.

"Stop it!" Roxy groaned, rubbing her temples. "Kaelen, he’s hurt. I treated him. He’s hungry. We are going to eat, and then he is going to... figure out his life after that. Zarek, say something."

She lied.

Zarek pushed off the post. He walked over to Syris, invading his personal space. He took a sniff, his nose wrinkling slightly.

"He’s empty," Zarek announced, looking back at Roxy. "His venom sacs are dry. He’s weak."

Syris bristled, his tail twitching aggressively, but Zarek just smirked.

"He can’t hurt you, Roxy," Zarek said dismissively. "He’s basically a worm right now. Let him eat the scraps."

With that, Zarek turned his back on the Serpent, the ultimate sign of disrespect, and walked into the house. To him, Syris wasn’t a threat worth posturing over.

Syris, however, looked ready to murder. His jaw tightened, and his hands curled into claws.

"I will gut him," Syris whispered.

"You will try," Kaelen challenged, stepping into Syris’s path. "And I will wear your skin as a belt."

Roxy flashed Kaelen a skeptical look. When did they start defending each other?

"Okay, that’s it!" Roxy stepped right into the middle of them, pushing Kaelen’s chest with one hand and Syris’s chest with the other.

"Listen to me, both of you," she ordered. "I spent three hours catching those birds. I am tired, covered in dirt, and hungry. If you two start fighting, I am dumping the chicken in the river, and we are having salad. Do you hear me? Salad."

Kaelen froze. He hated salad.

"Fine," Kaelen grumbled, stepping back. "But he sits in the corner."

"Good," Roxy exhaled. "Now, Syris, behave. Kaelen, bring the basket inside."

She turned to follow Zarek into the house.

"MA!"

The door flew open before she could reach it.

"Drax!" Roxy smiled, bracing herself.

Her toddler launched himself off the threshold. He didn’t care about the tension or the stranger; he just saw his mom.

He hit Roxy squarely in the chest.

"Oof!" Roxy laughed as she toppled backward onto the dirt, clutching the little dragon boy. Drax sprawled on top of her, giggling and patting her cheeks with his chubby hands.

"Ma! Food!" Drax cheered.

"Yes, food," Roxy grinned, looking up at him. "Did you do a good job being a good b—"

Suddenly, Drax was yanked backward.

To Syris, this wasn’t a greeting. In the snake pits, if something knocked you to the ground, it was trying to kill you. His instinct overrode his logic.

His tail whipped out, wrapping around Drax’s waist and pulling him off Roxy with a sharp, violent jerk.

"Get off!" Syris hissed.

He lifted the toddler into the air, his tail tightening. He wasn’t trying to crush him, but he was rough, treating Drax like a pest that needed to be removed.

Drax, startled and squeezed, let out a wail.

"WAAAAH!"

The sound cut through the clearing.

Inside the house, Zarek was already moving angrily toward the door. Kaelen roared, dropping the basket.

But Roxy was already moving.

The laughter vanished from her face. Her eyes went dark.

She scrambled up from the dirt, moving faster than she ever had in her life. She lunged at him.

She grabbed Drax with her left arm, ripping him out of the loose coil of the tail before Syris could realize what he was holding. She pulled the crying child against her hip.

In the same motion, her right hand dove into her pocket.

She spun on Syris, straddling him and pinning him to the floor, and jammed the barrel of her [Stun Gun] hard against the center of his forehead.

"Don’t," Roxy said.

Her voice wasn’t loud. It was shaking with rage.

Her eyes were wild, rimmed with unadulterated rage. Her hair was a mess, and her dress was torn, but at that moment, she looked more dangerous than the Dragon or the wolf.

No one messes with her child.

Syris froze. He looked at the small metal object pressed between his eyes. He looked at the woman holding it.

A moment ago, she was scared, calm, and beautiful. Now, she looked like she was ready to burn the world down. Her chest was heaving, her eyes locked on his with a ferocity that actually surprised him.

Zarek appeared in the doorway, ready to destroy anything in its path, but he stopped when he saw Roxy. He saw the gun. He saw the look on her face. He stayed back, a slow smile touching his lips. She has claws.

Syris blinked, looking down at the shaking woman. He let out a low, arrogant chuckle.

"You threaten me?" he asked smoothly, not pulling away from the gun. "With a toy, little bird? You are reckless."

He leaned in, the pressure of the gun barrel digging into his skin. His neon eyes glittered with amusement.

"I could snap your neck before you even press that thing," he whispered. "Do you really think that little thing will stop me?"

Roxy didn’t blink. Her finger tightened on the trigger, the device emitting a high-pitched hum of charging capacitors.

She tilted her head, her eyes dead and cold.

"Try me."