Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

Chapter 85: Episode 085: The System’s Task

Rue froze.

She blinked at the door.

Did he just call me Mama?

She knew the pack elders in the courtyard called her a little mother because of the baby in her arms. But hearing that word come from the terrifying Alpha King of the North felt strange.

"Don’t worry, he is referring to me." Iris quickly clarified, seeing Rue had began to overthink.

Rue mouthed an "O"

She quickly turned around and gave Iris’s cold hand one last gentle squeeze. Iris just kept her head resting against the frosty glass of the window, staring blankly out into the storm.

Rue stood up from the padded window seat. She smoothed the front of her thick winter dress. She took a very deep, slow breath to steady her racing heart.

Well that was awkward. But it’s fine.

She walked quietly across the cold stone floor and grabbed the iron handle.

She pulled the door open.

Axel was standing right there in the dimly lit hallway. He held a massive armful of dry, thick cedar wood against his chest. He looked entirely calm. His unusual hair fell perfectly around his sharp face.

Rue felt a warm flush creep up her neck. Instead of saying anything, she stepped backward and pulled the door open wider, silently inviting him inside.

[Says the person that wasn’t a fan of polygamy.]

You brought me here, I might as well enjoy myself.

Axel walked into the room. He brought a sharp gust of freezing air with him. His heavy black boots barely made a single sound against the stone floor. He was incredibly quiet for a man of his giant size. He moved with the smooth, careful grace of a predator who knew exactly where he was stepping.

He didn’t speak immediately. His sharp, icy eyes scanned the room.

He looked over at the window seat. He immediately saw Iris. Her gaze was buried in the landscape before her.

But he didn’t pry. He completely respected her silent space. He knew that forcing Iris to talk when she was not ready would only make her build her thick walls right back up.

Instead, he turned his attention entirely to the stone fireplace.

Rue watched him walk across the room. She felt a huge wave of relief wash over her tired body. She didn’t want to explain the terrible secret about Skoll tonight. She couldn’t betray Iris like that. Seeing Axel stay completely quiet and respectful made Rue feel a lot less anxious around him.

Axel knelt down gracefully on the hard stone hearth. He gently set the heavy cedar logs down next to the iron grate. He didn’t just throw the wood into the dying fire. He carefully arranged each piece. He built a perfect, sturdy little structure over the glowing red coals.

The dry wood caught fire almost instantly. Bright, cheerful orange flames leaped up, chasing away the dark, depressing shadows in the room. The fresh cedar wood cracked loudly. It smelled incredibly warm and sweet, pushing the sad smell of the spilled tea entirely out of the air.

Rue stood near the center of the room. She wrapped her arms tightly around her own chest. She just wanted to go back to her own guest room across the hall and check on little Theron. She wanted to curl up in the giant bed, pull the soft white furs over her head, and hide from this freezing, complicated world.

Axel stayed on his knees for a moment. He watched the orange flames grow higher. He was incredibly attentive to the small details. He adjusted a burning log with an iron poker, making sure the heat radiated entirely across the room to reach the cold window seat where Iris was resting. He made sure the room was perfectly warm for them.

His quiet obsession with Rue was growing rapidly inside his chest. He felt that sudden, intense, undeniable pull the very second he caught her falling on the black ice. He wanted to look at her all night long. He wanted to ask her a hundred questions about her life before she came to the wild Beastworld. He wanted to know what made her smile.

But he kept it completely hidden. He wore a perfect, cool, unbothered mask. He knew she was easily spooked. He saw how she panicked in the courtyard. He knew she already had a giant panther and a deadly snake fighting for her constant attention. He decided to play a completely different game. He would be the calm, safe, quiet place she didn’t want to run away from.

Axel finally stood up from the hearth. He dusted his large hands off on his thick winter pants. He turned around and looked directly at Rue.

"Do you like the cold?" Axel asked smoothly.

His voice was polite and perfectly pitched. He acted exactly like a perfect, completely harmless host checking on a visiting friend.

Rue looked at his icy eyes. She felt a little trapped by the sudden question. She really didn’t want to make small talk right now. Her mind was completely full of dark, heavy, depressing thoughts. It felt entirely wrong to stand here and chat casually about the winter weather when her friend was crying her heart out just a few feet away.

"I am fine," Rue answered softly. She kept her voice very quiet so she didn’t disturb the Wolf Princess. "I can get used to it."

She looked down at her own boots on the stone floor. She hoped her short, boring answer would end the conversation immediately. She tried to avoid the small talk entirely. She just wanted him to leave the room so she could go back to the window seat and hold Iris’s hand again.

Axel noticed her hesitation instantly. He saw the heavy, exhausting distraction swimming in her soft pink eyes. He didn’t take her cold shoulder personally. He knew she was carrying a massive amount of weight on her small frame. She was a young mother, a new mate, and a very loyal friend to his broken sister. Seeing her care so much about Iris just made him want her even more.

"The North takes a very long time to get used to," Axel said gently. He took a slow, completely non-threatening step closer to her. "It is harsh. It is completely unforgiving to strangers. But it also has a very quiet, hidden beauty to it. You just have to know exactly where to look."

Rue nodded slowly. She didn’t look up at his face. She kept her small hands tightly clasped in front of her dress. She really wished she had little Theron in her arms right now. Holding the warm, happy baby always made her feel brave and grounded. Standing entirely alone in front of this handsome, entirely too calm Alpha was making her skin tingle in a highly confusing way.

She completely avoided looking at his perfect, two-toned hair. She remembered the teasing blue screen from the courtyard. She absolutely didn’t want the system to flash another annoying message in her face about acquiring a new mate. She had enough drama for one lifetime.

Axel stepped entirely away from the warm stone fireplace. He looked over at the window seat one more time. Iris had finally stopped shaking. She was resting her tired head heavily against the cold frosty glass, looking completely exhausted from her long crying session.

Axel turned his full attention back to Rue.

"My sister needs some time to rest alone," Axel said politely. He offered a very small, charming, completely disarming smile. "Would you join me for a short walk in the snow gardens? I can show you the quiet beauty I was talking about."

Rue immediately opened her mouth to deny going. She had the perfect excuse completely ready on her tongue. She was going to tell him she was entirely too tired. She was going to say she needed to cross the hall and check on her sleeping baby. She was going to politely shut the door in his handsome face.

Right before the words left her mouth, the system screen popped up, completely invisible to Axel.

[Raise Axel Affection to a 100%.]

[Reward: A Vacation with your little One for a week.]

She slowly closed her mouth. She swallowed hard. She looked at the blue screen, completely changing her mind in a single, desperate second.

Deal.