Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 88: Episode : Going to the Tiger Territory

The moment Roxy stepped back into the cabin, and slammed the wooden door right behind her in fear.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the leather satchel she had hidden near the door, filled with dried meat, water skins, and diapers.

The thought was still shaking inside her, at the severity of what she was about to do.

I almost killed them, she thought, her stomach churning with nausea. I was going to take the kids and run, and I would have turned them into monsters.

[TheMotheroftheWorld understands where you are coming from]

No, you don’t!

Mara’s words echoed in her mind loudly. Burns out his mind. Explodes his heart.

What if she had already gone?

Then all her effort would have gone to waste?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Roxy hissed at herself, ripping the bag open.

She frantically shoved the dried meat back into the larder. She tossed the water skins onto the table as if she had just prepared them for dinner. She kicked the empty bag under the bench just as the heavy sound of legs, and boots, thudded onto the front porch.

They were back.

Roxy smoothed her dress, took a deep breath, and plastered a smile onto her face. She sat down in the rocking chair, pulling Iris into her lap just as the door swung open.

Kaelen entered first.

Then Zarek followed, Syris trailed behind, they looked agitated as if something was bothering them but then when their eyes met Roxy they calmed down.

"You are here," Kaelen rumbled, his voice dropping an octave lower than usual.

He crossed the room in two strides, falling to his knees beside the rocking chair. He buried his face in Roxy’s neck, inhaling deeply.

"You smell of... distress," Kaelen growled against her skin. "What’s wrong?"

Roxy’s heart hammered against her ribs. I really want to telll them, but what would I tell them?

That I want to runaway, with the kids?

Because I didn’t want to stress my vagina?

"I was cleaning the wagon," Roxy lied, keeping her voice steady. She ran her fingers through his silver hair, scratching the scalp the way he liked. "I took Drax and the babies out for air. The wagon was dusty."

Kaelen pulled back, searching her face. His blue eyes were swirling with a storm she hadn’t seen before.

"Do not leave the cabin," Kaelen commanded, his grip on the arm of the chair cracking the wood slightly. "The mating season is coming."

"I know," Roxy said softly.

Roxy watched them.

They were already starting to fray. Mara was right. The testosterone, and their instinct, it was boiling just beneath the surface. And the Red Moon hadn’t even risen yet.

If they stayed here, trapped in this cabin with the threat of a Tiger invasion hanging over their heads, the stress would break them before the Rut even began. They would be fighting an external war while fighting an internal biological collapse.

They couldn’t do both.

If they were going to survive the Red Moon, they needed peace. And to get peace, they needed to remove the Tiger from the board.

Roxy stood up, shifting Iris to her hip.

"Sit down," she ordered.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the testosterone-filled air like a knife.

The three men stopped their pacing. They looked at her.

"Roxy," Zarek started, "we do not have time to—"

"I said, sit," Roxy repeated, channeling every ounce of "Mother" authority the System gave her.

Reluctantly, they obeyed. Kaelen sat on the floor. Zarek perched on the table. Syris leaned against the hearth.

Roxy looked at them. Her mismatched, dangerous, beautiful family. She swallowed her guilt. She would never tell them she almost ran. Instead, she would save them.

"We are not hiding in this cabin anymore," Roxy announced.

Kaelen frowned. "It is the safest place. The walls are reinforced. Syris has his sun-room."

"That’s not what I am talking about," Roxy corrected. "The Tiger is probably watching outside, waiting for you to weaken. He knows the Rut is coming. He’s waiting for you to go crazy so he can walk in and take me."

Zarek growled, a plume of smoke escaping his lips. "He will never take you."

"He will if you’re feral," Roxy said bluntly.

The word hung in the air. The men flinched. They knew. They knew exactly what was coming, and they were terrified of it.

"I spoke to Mara," Roxy continued, stepping forward. "I know what happens during the Red Moon. I know what happens if you don’t... release."

She blushed slightly, but held her head high.

"But we can’t focus on us if we are worried about him."

She pointed out the window, toward the south.

"Torian sent an invitation. A scroll, I found it when I returned from Mara’s place sitting on our fur bed. He wants to ’talk’. He wants to ’honor the Mother’."

"It is a trap," Syris spat. "He wants to lure us into his Citadel."

"Exactly," Roxy said. "So we’re going to surprise him."

She walked over to the table and placed her hand on Zarek’s knee. She looked at Kaelen. She looked at Syris.

"We are going to pack our bags, load the wagon, and march right up to his front door."

"What?" Kaelen stood up, looking horrified. "Roxy, no. That is not suitable! You are still nursing. The triplets..."

"The triplets are coming with us," Roxy said firmly. "We move as a Pack. If we leave them, you’ll worry. If we stay, we’re broken."

"You want to walk into the Tiger’s den?" Zarek asked, his eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Because I want to look him in the eye," Roxy said, her voice fierce. "I want to know what he wants. I want to negotiate a truce. Or, if he wants a fight, I want to end it on our terms, before the moon turns fully red."

Since he likes hiding and watching so much, why don’t we just meet him?

She grabbed Kaelen’s hand.

"I need you focused on me, Kaelen. When the Rut hits... I need you here. With me. Not patrolling the perimeter. Not fighting scouts. I need you in my bed." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Kaelen’s breath hitched. The pupil of his eye dilated so wide the blue disappeared. The promise of her, her surrendering to his coming madness, was a drug he couldn’t resist.

"If we go to him..." Syris mused, his analytical mind catching up. "We fall under Guest Right. He cannot attack us in his own Citadel without losing face before the other clans. It forces a stalemate."

"Exactly," Roxy nodded. "We use his own arrogance against him."

Zarek grinned.

"I want to secure my family," Roxy said to them. "And I’m tired of being hunted."

She looked at them, her gaze hardening.

"Pack the wagon. Bring the furs. Bring the things . We leave in the hour."

"And the Rut?" Kaelen asked, his voice rough. "It will hit us on the road. Or when we arrive."

Roxy stepped closer to him, rising on her tiptoes to kiss his jaw.

"Then let it hit," she whispered, a blush staining her cheeks. "The wagon has curtains. And the Tiger has guest rooms. I’m not running from you anymore, Wolfy. I’m running to you."

Kaelen shuddered, a low growl tearing from his throat. He grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"If we go," Kaelen swore, "I will not let anyone touch you. Not the Tiger. Not his guards."

"Good," Roxy said, pulling back. "Because you’re the only monsters I allow."