Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

"And your next mate," Axel finished for her.

He ignored the sharp warning look Rue shot at him. The giant white wolf stood tall in the freezing snow. He crossed his thick arms over his broad chest and flashed a wild, highly confident smile right at the two giant men standing across from him.

A bright blue screen popped up directly in front of Rue’s face.

[New Mate Bond Recognised: Axel, Alpha of the Northern Wolves.]

[Status: Bond established. Host survival rate in the North has increased.]

Rue closed her eyes. She brought her cold hand up and facepalmed. She rubbed her fingers against her forehead, feeling a massive headache forming behind her eyes. This was a disaster. She was standing in a freezing pine forest with three highly territorial warlords, and two of them looked ready to commit murder.

Surely, Queen Roxann wasn’t this quick in gathering all her mates, right? Rue thought mentally.

She waited in the freezing silence for the system to drop a sarcastic comment. She wanted the glowing blue screen to explain that this was a normal pace for Beastworld heroines. She wanted to know if the legendary Roxy also accidentally collected giant, scary men while simply trying to survive the week.

The system stayed silent. [...]

A tiny, high-pitched cry came from her leather travel bag.

The little snow leopard cub did not like the freezing wind. The sudden drop in temperature was making the sick baby uncomfortable again. Rue dropped her hand from her face and immediately reached into the bag. She carefully pulled the fuzzy, grey baby out. She tucked the tiny cub safely against her chest, wrapping the thick layers of her heavy Northern cloak around the animal to share her own body heat.

Caius and Knox watched her settle the new animal. Then they both slowly turned their massive heads to look at the giant white wolf.

Axel actually raised his hand and waved at them. It was a casual, overly friendly wave that contradicted the dangerous, sharp claws resting on his fingers.

Rue felt the heavy, terrifying tension returning to the snowy clearing. She looked at the two men standing in front of her. Caius had his dead, still predator expression back. His golden eyes were slowly bleeding into a dark, dangerous red. Knox looked like he was about to rip a giant pine tree out of the frozen dirt and swing it.

Don’t look at me, Rue thought frantically. It’s his fault. I don’t want a lot of mates. I’m just trying to do my mission here. I didn’t ask for a wolf to follow me.

She kept her face totally flat and blank. She didn’t say a single word out loud. She just stood there holding the shivering cub, acting unbothered by the massive standoff happening right in front of her.

But she forgot the most important rule. Caius could hear every single word she said inside her head.

The Serpent Alpha blinked. His cold eyes instantly stopped bleeding red and softened back to their normal, calm gold colour. The terrifying, murderous aura drained out of his tall, quiet body. He knew she was telling the absolute truth. He heard the genuine exhaustion in her mental voice. He knew she was just as annoyed by the giant wolf as he was.

Knox felt the sudden, massive shift in mood through his connection with Caius. The giant panther uncurled his massive fists. He relaxed his broad shoulders and let out a long breath of white steam.

Axel slowly lowered his hand. The Northern King looked highly confused. The two men were just ready to rip his throat out a second ago. He expected a massive, bloody fight. Now they ignored his presence. He tilted his head, trying to figure out what invisible signal just passed between them.

Caius took a slow step closer to Rue. He looked down at her freezing, pink nose and her shivering shoulders.

"First, let’s get you home," Caius said smoothly. His voice was deep and calm. "I have your favourite strawberries waiting for you. And a lot of other fruits you would love."

Rue’s long rabbit ears shot straight up on top of her head.

"And I made applesauce," Knox added quickly. The giant panther stepped right up next to Caius, blocking Axel out of the circle. He looked very proud of himself. "The sweet kind. Just exactly the way you like it."

Rue swallowed hard. Her mouth instantly started watering. She spent weeks in the freezing North eating terrible, bland vegetables and pretending she liked it just to survive. The sudden thought of fresh, sweet strawberries and warm applesauce hit her right in her absolute weakest spot. Her nose twitched rapidly in pure, unfiltered excitement.

She didn’t care about the warlord politics right now. She didn’t care about the strange dynamic between the three men. She just wanted a snack, a warm bed, and a room that didn’t smell like freezing pine needles.

"Okay," Rue said quickly. "Let’s go home."

Knox smiled brightly. He reached his giant, calloused hands out toward her chest. "Here, let me hold the cat thing. You look tired."

The little snow leopard poked her round, grey head out of the thick fur cloak. She took one look at the giant, scary panther reaching for her and lost her temper. The tiny cub bared her tiny white teeth and hissed incredibly loudly. She took a fast, aggressive swipe at his massive fingers with her tiny paws.

Knox pulled his hand back very quickly. He looked deeply offended.

"Stop it," Rue whispered to the cub. She gently petted the fuzzy grey head to calm her down. She looked up at the giant panther. "She’s a little grumpy. I saved her and adopted her at the springs."

Knox crossed his massive arms over his chest. He glared down at the tiny grey furball hiding in the cloak. "What if it eats you when it gets bigger?"

Rue narrowed her pink eyes at him. She tightened her hold on the baby leopard and pouted slightly.

"Not everyone is like you," Rue said grumpily.

Knox’s mouth dropped open slightly. He looked like she just been slapped right across the face. He was a giant, violent predator, and she just casually reminded him of that fact while defending a tiny baby animal. He let out a loud, highly dramatic sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, defeated by his tiny mate.

Caius didn’t say a word. He just stepped forward and smoothly scooped Rue off the snowy ground.

He lifted her up into his strong arms like she weighed absolutely nothing. Rue let out a soft, happy breath and leaned her cold head directly against his warm chest. She kept the little cub trapped safely between them. The cub let out a soft purr, satisfied with this new, very warm arrangement.

Knox was left standing in the snow with empty arms.

He looked down. Theron was sitting perfectly in the deep snow, wrapped up tightly in his thick travel blankets.

"Come here, kid," Knox grumbled.

He reached down and picked the heavy baby boy up. Theron looked at the giant panther’s grumpy face. The baby boy blinked his bright golden eyes. Then he opened his mouth and stuck his tongue right out at Knox.

For a little toddler, Theron was highly perceptive. He knew exactly whose side he was on, and he was firmly on his mother’s side.

Knox just groaned and bounced the rude baby on his hip.

Caius turned around and started walking back through the dark pine forest, carrying Rue away from the cold. Knox followed right behind him. The panther kept his broad back facing the Northern King.

They walked right past the King of the North like he was invisible.

Rue hid her face deep into Caius’s thick, dark coat. She turned her head into his chest when they passed Axel. She didn’t want to look at the giant white wolf. She didn’t want to explain anything. She just wanted to go home and eat her fruit.

Axel stood frozen in the deep snow. He watched his brand new mate get carried away by another man without saying a single goodbye.

He cleared his throat loudly, making sure the sound echoed through the quiet forest.

"What about me?" Axel asked.

Knox didn’t even stop walking. He just threw a cold look right over his broad, muscular shoulder.

"If you like your life, follow us."