Baby System: My Mates Can Read my Mind?

Chapter 90: Episode 90: Skoll’s Return

In the snow forest.

"So it was you..." Iris whispered as she shifted into her human form.

She stood completely barefoot at the very edge of a wide, frozen stream. She was deep inside the dark pine forest, miles away from the warm safety of the palace walls. She chased the giant rogue wolf all the way here.

She didn’t care about the biting wind or the sharp rocks hiding under the thick snow. She followed his frantic tracks through the heavy winter storm, running until her lungs burned.

Skoll did not shift when she shifted. He just stood there on the other side of the frozen lake.

The giant gray wolf tucked his thick, patchy tail tightly between his back legs. He lowered his massive head toward the cold ice and let out a long, pitiful whimper.

Watching him cower like a frightened pup felt like her heart breaking into a million pieces.

This was Skoll. This was the quiet, serious boy who used to stand by the heavy tree line and watch her and Hati play around in the snow. Iris took a slow, highly careful step onto the frozen stream. The ice cracked softly under her bare heel, echoing loudly in the quiet woods.

"Skoll... it’s me, flower," Iris called out softly. Her voice shook badly in the freezing wind. "Have you forgotten when I and Hati would always come to disturb you?"

She used her old childhood nickname for him. She desperately hoped the silly word would spark a real, human memory inside his fractured brain. She wanted him to remember the bright sunny days in the courtyard, not the bloody snow of the border war.

Skoll bared his sharp white teeth and let out a low, aggressive warning growl. He didn’t want her to come any closer.

Iris stopped walking. She didn’t let the scary growl chase her away. She just wrapped her arms tightly around her own shoulders to stop her violent shivering.

"Are you not curious to see him?" Iris asked, taking another gentle, slow step forward on the slippery ice. "Or how he turned out?"

Skoll stopped growling. His torn, fuzzy ears twitched wildly on top of his large head. He let out another soft, absolutely miserable whimper. He took a heavy step backward, his back paws slipping slightly on the slick snow covering the rocky riverbank. He looked like he desperately wanted to turn around and run away into the shadows again, but his body just couldn’t force itself to leave her completely. The mate bond was holding him in place.

Iris felt a hot tear slide slowly down her freezing cheek.

"Don’t you know we are mates?" Iris cried out. Her voice broke completely, shattering the quiet silence of the winter night. "I wouldn’t have left you in that forest. If I had known it was you that I saved, I would have brought you back to the pack. I would have thrown a massive party for you."

She covered her face with her cold hands. She buried her head right into her palms, crying heavily. Her bare shoulders shook violently under the falling snow.

"What’s the matter?" Iris sobbed into her hands. "We can talk it out. Why have you become like this? Was it because of me?"

She completely surrendered to the crushing guilt. She stood there crying in the dark, waiting for the heavy sound of his paws running away. She fully expected him to turn his back on her and disappear into the dark woods forever. She thought she ruined him entirely.

She didn’t see him move. She didn’t see Skoll walk slowly across the slick, frozen stream.

Iris just stood there sobbing, completely lost in her own despair. Then, a large, incredibly warm hand placed itself gently against hers.

Iris gasped loudly. She shivered violently from the sudden, burning heat of his skin pressing against her freezing fingers. She slowly pulled her hands away from her wet face and looked up.

Skoll was not a giant gray wolf anymore.

He had shifted into his human form right in front of her. He stood there in his full glory, completely naked in the freezing winter storm. He didn’t even seem to feel the biting cold wind whipping against his bare skin. He looked incredibly masculine. His chest was broad, thick, and covered in terrible, raised silver scars from the old border war. His dark brown hair was very long, heavily matted, and entirely wild, falling way past his broad shoulders. He had thick, bushy eyebrows shading his dark, incredibly intense eyes.

He looked incredibly dirty. He was covered in dried mud, old pine needles, and black soot. He looked exactly like a man who lived in a dirty cave for months. But even under all that grime, he was completely breathtaking. He was very handsome. The quiet, skinny boy she remembered from her childhood was completely gone. He was replaced by a massive, striking man.

Skoll didn’t say a single word. He just stood there, looking down at her with a soft, desperate sorrow shining in his dark eyes. He didn’t look crazy or feral. He just looked incredibly tired and entirely lonely.

Iris was completely overwhelmed with emotion. The heavy, crushing guilt instantly vanished, replaced by a massive wave of pure, undeniable love. She didn’t care about the mud, the dirt, or the scars. She threw herself directly into his arms.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her wet face against his scarred chest.

Skoll caught her easily. He wrapped his thick, powerful arms entirely around her waist. He pulled her flush against his warm, solid body, burying his dirty face deep in her dark hair. He let out a long, heavy sigh, completely accepting her back into his life. He didn’t push her away. He just held her.

They stood there right in the middle of the frozen stream, holding each other tightly in the dark. Iris cried for a very long time, finally feeling completely safe in her mate’s arms.

While they were holding each other out in the snow, Rue was safe inside the palace.

She was pacing nervously back and forth across the smooth stone floor of her warm guest room. She couldn’t sit still for even a single second. Her soft rabbit instincts were completely on edge. She absolutely hated the terrible, heavy tension sitting in the room. She just watched a massive feral wolf crash through a thick window and her best friend jump out into a storm right after him. She was entirely terrified for Iris.

Gianna was sitting comfortably on the edge of the giant, fur-covered bed. The young princess had her heavy boots kicked off, resting her feet right on the thick white blankets. She didn’t look worried at all. She actually looked a little bored.

"Relax Rue," Gianna said casually. She picked at a loose, dark thread on her leather tunic. "My sister is a werewolf. She is the best person to talk to him right now. She would be back better than you know it."

Rue stopped pacing. She looked at Gianna in pure disbelief. She didn’t understand how the Basilisk princess could be so completely calm while a wild monster was running loose right outside their windows.

Axel was standing quietly near the warm stone fireplace. He completely agreed with his little sister.

He didn’t look panicked either. He watched Rue pace with a calm, steady, highly calculating gaze. He walked gracefully over to a small wooden table resting in the corner of the room. He picked up a small clay pitcher and poured a cup of fresh, cool water.

Axel walked across the room and held the cup out to Rue.

Rue let out a shaky breath and accepted the water. Her small fingers brushed right against his large, warm hand for just a split second. She took a slow sip. The cool water helped clear her dry throat, but it didn’t wash away the heavy anxiety sitting deep in her stomach.

She looked up at Axel. His unusual black and white hair caught the orange light of the fire perfectly. He looked so incredibly smart and totally unshakable. He always knew exactly what was going on inside his pack.

"Did you know?" Rue asked softly.

Axel frowned slightly. A small crease formed right between his sharp eyebrows.

"What?" Axel asked. His deep voice was entirely calm and steady.

Rue pressed her lips tightly together. She didn’t say anything else. She wanted to ask him the big question. She wanted to ask if he knew that his twin sister Iris had a mate, and that her mate was Skoll all along. Did his brilliant, calculating mind figure it out years ago before the border war? Or did Iris completely hide it from everyone, even her own twin brother?

Axel watched her face very carefully. He saw the heavy, unasked question hiding in her bright pink eyes. He took a single step closer, completely ready to ask her exactly what she was thinking about. He wanted to know what secret she was holding back from him.

Before Axel could even open his mouth, a massive sound completely shattered the quiet night.

A loud, beautiful, incredibly powerful howl tore directly through the dark sky outside the palace walls. It wasn’t a terrifying growl of pain. It wasn’t a broken feral scream. It was a clear, strong call of pure, absolute joy echoing across the entire frozen valley.

Axel turned his head quickly toward the heavy wooden door, listening closely to the echoing sound.

"It’s Iris,"