Chapter 506: Episode 504: Ren’s Connection
The shiny gold wrapping paper crinkled softly under Roxy’s shaking fingers.
She looked down at the rectangular gift resting in her lap. It felt a little heavy, like a solid block of wood. The terrible, dark memories of her human parents and the ragged monster in the park were still floating around in the back of her mind, but the warmth of the six men surrounding her kept the cold away.
Zarek sat right in front of her, his golden eyes glowing with a quiet, happy secret. "Open it, my heart," he rumbled softly.
Roxy reached out and grabbed the soft white ribbon. She pulled it gently, and the bow fell apart. She carefully tore the shiny gold paper away.
Inside was a beautiful, thick picture frame. It was carved out of dark, heavy Iron-Wood from the magical forests of the Beastworld. But as Roxy flipped the frame over to look at the front, she gasped.
It was not a normal, flat human photograph. The glass shimmered with a soft, warm light. It was a magical, moving picture.
Right there, trapped safely behind the glass, were her beautiful babies.
It was a moving scene from the cozy living room of the Iron-Wood Manor. The fireplace was crackling silently in the background. They were all sitted on the couch trying their best to behave themselves.
[Check the comments for a picture.]
They were so happy. They were completely safe.
Roxy stared at the moving picture, completely mesmerized. She raised her trembling hand and pressed her fingertips against the cool glass, right over Drax’s smiling face.
"Oh, Zarek," Roxy whispered, her voice completely cracking. A fresh wave of tears rushed into her green eyes, but these were not sad, scared tears. They were tears of pure, blinding joy. "It is so beautiful. I love it. I love it so much."
"I knew you would," Zarek smiled, his broad shoulders relaxing. He reached out and wiped a happy tear from her chin.
Roxy held the heavy wooden frame tightly against her chest, right over her heart. She watched little Fedor fall over dizzy in the moving picture, and a soft, watery giggle escaped her lips.
It was the most perfect gift in the entire universe. It was a window to her family. But as she watched them laugh and play, a tiny, quiet ache pinched the corner of her heart.
This picture was taken months ago. It was taken before the magic door closed, before the dark basement, and before the newest addition to their family was even born.
"It’s perfect," Roxy whispered, looking down at the moving image. She bit her bottom lip, her voice dropping into a soft, longing sigh. "I just... I wish I could see baby Gianna. I wish I had a picture of her, too."
The living room went perfectly quiet.
Then, the soft carpet ruffled as Ren shifted his position on the floor.
The silver-haired healer moved closer to her. His beautiful, calm silver eyes were incredibly soft, shining with a deep, endless well of love. He smiled, a sweet, knowing smile that made his handsome face look like an absolute angel.
"I knew you would say that, my sweet bunny," Ren whispered.
Ren reached into the inside pocket of his sharp black suit jacket. He pulled out a second, much smaller picture frame. This one was wrapped in a piece of soft, dark green velvet.
He reached out and gently placed the smaller frame right on top of the first one in Roxy’s lap.
Roxy’s breath caught in her throat. Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely pull the velvet cloth away. When the soft fabric fell back, the glass shimmered with that same warm, magical light.
Roxy looked down, and her heart completely, totally stopped.
It was a moving picture of tiny baby Gianna.
The little girl was wrapped tightly in a soft, pale green swaddling cloth to keep her warm. She had a head full of beautiful, soft dark curls, just like Roxy. But the most precious part was resting right on top of her tiny head. The older kids had made her a tiny, delicate little golden crown. She looked like a perfect, tiny princess.
In the moving picture, baby Gianna slowly blinked her big, bright green eyes. She let out a tiny, silent yawn, blowing a small, clear bubble from her lips, before closing her eyes to go back to sleep.
The sight of her youngest daughter was too much.
The emotional dam inside Roxy’s chest completely broke.
All the heavy tears, all the stress from the park, all the leftover sadness from the last few months—it all shattered into a million pieces. Roxy broke down completely. She let out a loud, heavy sob, crying so hard that her shoulders shook. The tears fell down her cheeks like a heavy summer rain, splashing softly onto the glass of the picture frame.
She cried because she was so happy. She finally had her babies back. She could look at their beautiful faces every single day for the rest of her life. She would never have to forget them.
Ren moved closer, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her steady while she cried.
Roxy carefully placed the pictures on the sofa next to her. She wiped her wet, red eyes with the back of her hands and looked up at the silver-haired healer.
Her mind was finally catching up with her emotions. She was completely touched, but she was also incredibly confused. The magic door between Earth and the Beastworld had been permanently closed for weeks. The communication machine Kaelen brought had completely died.
"How?" Roxy asked, her voice thick and wet with heavy tears. She looked at Ren with wide green eyes. "How did you get these? The door is totally locked. There is no magic left."
Ren let out a soft, low chuckle. He reached up and gently tucked a stray, dark curl behind her ear.
"Do you remember the pendant?" Ren asked softly. "I shared a very rare, very deep soul-tie with little Fedor. Because his fox magic was so wild and dangerous, our spirits were tied together so I could keep him safe and healthy."
Roxy nodded slowly. She remembered. The bond between Ren and the little fox boy had been incredibly special.
"When we crossed over to the human world, all of our magic burned away," Ren explained, his eyes looking deep into hers. "But because a soul-tie is tied to the heart, a tiny, invisible thread of it survived the journey. When Fedor saw you on that screen a few weeks ago, the connection sparked one last time. I could feel his pure joy."
Ren smiled a sad but beautiful smile.
"But the thread was fading very fast," Ren continued, his voice dropping into a quiet whisper. "I knew it wouldn’t last much longer. The human world was slowly erasing it. So... I used the very last drop of that magic. I reached through the fading connection and pulled these memories through for you, right before the string snapped forever."
Roxy stared at him, her mouth falling open in pure shock.
"I am no longer connected to our world, Roxy," Ren told her honestly. "My magic is completely, totally gone. I am just a normal human man now. But I gladly burned the very last piece of my power just to get something that would make you feel closer to them forever."
He had given up his very last connection to his home, his last piece of magic, just to make her smile.
Roxy was so overwhelmed by his incredible, selfless love that she couldn’t even speak. She didn’t use words to thank him.
She reached her hands out and grabbed the soft lapels of Ren’s black suit jacket. She pulled him forward, crashing her lips right against his.
It wasn’t a sweet, quick peck on the cheek. Roxy kissed him sensually, pouring every single ounce of her deep, overwhelming gratitude into him. She parted her lips, kissing him with a sudden, fiery passion that made Ren let out a low, totally surprised groan. His hands instantly came up, completely cradling her jaw, holding her face as he kissed her back deeply and hungrily.
The other Kings watched, their eyes darkening with heat, but they smiled. They knew Ren deserved every single second of that beautiful reward.
When Roxy finally pulled back, they were both breathing heavily. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink, and Ren’s eyes were blown wide with completely unhidden lust.
Roxy rested her forehead gently against his. She looked closely at his handsome face.
A sudden, strange thought hit her brain out of nowhere.
Torian had given up his giant white tiger form. Zarek had given up his massive golden dragon. They had all sacrificed their beastly bodies to walk through the dangerous space between worlds to find her.
But Ren was already dead back in the beastworldd.
Roxy pulled her head back just an inch, her eyebrows pulling together in a small frown. She whispered a question she had been too busy and too sad to ever ask before.
"Ren..." Roxy breathed out, searching his silver eyes. "You never told me how you actually got to Earth."
