Chapter 71: Episode 071: I am cold
Caius didn’t say a word when Knox stepped into the room.
The snake simply raised one long, pale finger and pressed it firmly against his own lips.
He pointed down at the center of his dark, heavy coils.
Knox followed the pointing finger. He saw the tiny, fluffy white bunny tucked safely inside the black snake scales. The bunny was fast asleep, her little pink nose twitching slightly with every quiet breath.
Knox immediately understood. He carefully stepped backward into the kitchen. He slowly lowered the heavy deer to the floor.
He made sure the heavy hooves didn’t make a loud thud against the wooden boards. He washed his hands with water, and took a quiet breath and walked back toward the bedroom.
He stepped into the room, moving with the silent grace of a jungle cat, and leaned his broad shoulder against the wooden doorframe.
He looked at Caius and looked at little Theron playing with the shiny green scales. Then he looked at the tiny white rabbit.
A heavy, quiet tension hung in the air between the two men. They were rival predators. They were both dangerous in their own right. But right now, they were just two men standing in a quiet room, completely focused on the sleeping girl between them.
"Did you hurt her?" Caius whispered. His voice was so low it barely made a sound in the quiet room.
Knox bristled instantly. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. His bright golden eyes flashed with offense. He crossed his thick arms tightly over his chest.
"Are you doubting me?" Knox whispered back angrily. His voice had a dangerous, sharp edge to it, even though he kept the volume turned down low. "I know how small she is. I know exactly how strong I am. I treated her as the flower that she is. I’m a King, snake. I’m not a wild monster."
Caius watched the panther’s face. He saw the genuine anger in Knox’s eyes. The panther was highly insulted by the question. That was actually a good thing. It meant Knox really cared about her safety.
But Caius knew there was more to Rue than just her physical safety. He knew she had a lot of hidden sadness. He knew she cried when she thought nobody was looking.
Caius pressed his lips into a thin line. He looked down at the sleeping bunny for a long moment. He gently stroked his thumb over one of her long, soft white ears.
"You should have figured out the other stuff by now," Caius said quietly.
Knox frowned. He tilted his head slightly, completely confused. He uncrossed his arms. "What other stuff? What am I missing?"
He didn’t talk about it because those were Rue’s secrets. It wasn’t his place to tell another man about the things that made her cry.
But Caius knew he had to explain how her heart worked. If Knox was going to be a part of this family, the panther needed to understand who he was actually dealing with.
"Rue is very fragile and soft," Caius whispered, keeping his golden eyes locked on Knox. "But her heart is cold. She hides behind a blank face. She pretends things don’t bother her. She acts like she doesn’t need anyone. It takes time for her to love."
Knox stayed perfectly quiet. He listened to every single word.
"But she cares a lot, maybe too much," Caius continued gently. "She gave birth to my son, helped your entire tribe. She worries about people, even when she tries to act like she doesn’t. You need to look past the cold walls she puts up, and look at the things she actually does."
Caius shifted his weight against the wooden headboard. "Be patient with her, Knox. Don’t push her to say things she isn’t ready to say. Just give her the time she needs to figure her own heart out."
Knox stared at the snake. He thought about the way Rue had spoken to him earlier that morning. She had plainly told him she didn’t love him yet. She had drawn a very clear line between them. He hadn’t understood it at the time, but Caius’s words suddenly made it make sense.
The panther’s hard frown slowly faded. The defensive tension in his broad shoulders completely dropped.
Knox gave a single, firm nod. He didn’t need to argue. He understood exactly what Caius was telling him. They were on the same side. They both wanted the exact same thing. They wanted her to feel safe.
"I have plenty of patience," Knox whispered back. "I’ll give her all the time she needs."
A quiet, mutual understanding settled over the bedroom. The rivalry wasn’t entirely gone, but the bitter edge was finally completely smoothed out. They were a pack now. They had to make this work.
Knox pushed himself off the wooden doorframe. "I’ll go clean the deer. She’ll be hungry when she wakes up. We need fresh meat for a proper stew."
"She doesn’t eat meat, so get some fruit for her. Don’t make a mess in the kitchen," Caius warned quietly. "She hates a dirty floor."
Knox just rolled his eyes and walked quietly back out into the main living room.
Caius let out a long, quiet breath. He felt good about the conversation. He felt like the cabin was finally stabilizing. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the quiet morning sun warming his face.
Little Theron let out a tiny yawn. The baby was getting tired again. He dropped the shiny green scale he was holding and rubbed his chubby fists against his golden eyes.
"Alright, little one," Caius murmured. "Time for a real nap."
Caius carefully lifted Theron and placed him gently back into the wooden crib in the corner of the room. He tucked the thick blankets around the baby’s shoulders. Theron closed his eyes and drifted right back to sleep.
Caius turned back to the bed.
He decided to shift his massive coils just a little bit to get more comfortable. He carefully slid his thick, scaly tail across the mattress, making sure to keep the center nest perfectly intact for the sleeping bunny.
As he moved, the smooth, cool scales of his inner coil brushed gently against the little white rabbit’s back.
Caius instantly stopped moving.
Something was wrong.
He touched her back again with his bare hand. The bunny wasn’t just warm from sleeping under the blankets. She was burning up. It felt like holding his hand over a lit fireplace.
"Rue?" Caius whispered, his voice suddenly thick with fresh panic.
He had never felt her this hot before.
He quickly uncoiled his tail completely, giving her plenty of open space. The heat cycle was definitely over. The heavy, sweet scent in the air was completely gone. Then what was wrong?
The tiny white bunny began to tremble. Her whole body shook violently against the mattress.
Rue shifted right back into her human form.
She lay curled up on her side in the center of the bed. Her skin was a sickly, pale gray color, completely drained of life. She was sweating profusely, her silver hair plastered to her wet forehead and neck. Her breath came out in short, ragged, painful gasps.
She was sick.
Caius grabbed her shoulders. Her skin was burning up under his hands. The fever was spiking dangerously high, cooking her from the inside out.
Rue slowly opened her swollen pink eyes. They were completely unfocused and hazy. She looked up at Caius, but it didn’t look like she actually saw him. Her teeth chattered loudly in the quiet room. She wrapped her arms tightly around her own chest, trying to pull herself into a tiny ball.
"I am so cold..." she shivered.
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