Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 66: Episode : Kaelen’s Vow

The sun was just beginning to bleed over the horizon, painting the Iron-Wood forest in hues of purple and violent orange.

It was the time of morning when the forest usually held its breath, waiting for the predators to sleep and the prey to wake.

Kaelen did not sleep.

He stood on the porch of the main cabin, his arms crossed over his chest, his knuckles white. His eyes were fixed on the path leading to the Clearing of the Stars.

He had been standing there for hours.

He had heard the faint echoes of the Dragon’s roar hours ago. He had heard, or perhaps his jealous mind had conjured it, the sound of Roxy screaming.

Every minute that ticked by was a fresh cut on his pride. He knew what was happening. He had agreed to it. He had even pushed for it, in a way, to secure peace.

But knowing his mate was being ravaged by another male gnawed at his gut like a parasite. Then, he smelled them.

The scent hit him before they emerged from the trees. It was thick, heavy, and undeniable.

It was so potent that Kaelen had to suppress a gag reflex. It smelled like a forest fire had mated with a perfume factory.

Zarek stepped into the clearing.

He looked satisfied. That was the only word for it. His black robe was disheveled, hanging loosely off his shoulders. His hair was wild.

And in his arms, limp as a ragdoll, was Roxy.

She was wrapped in the heavy furs Zarek had taken, her head lolling against his chest, her hair a tangled mess covering her face. One of her arms dangled down, her fingers twitching slightly in sleep.

Kaelen saw red.

His vision literally tinted crimson at the edges. The wolf inside him roared, clawing at his ribcage, demanding to tear the throat out of the rival male who had marked his territory so thoroughly.

He stormed down the steps.

"Quiet," Zarek hissed.

The command was sharp, cutting through Kaelen’s rage. Zarek’s golden eyes narrowed.

"Do not wake her, Wolf. She needs rest. If you wake her with your jealous barking, I will incinerate you where you stand."

Kaelen ground his teeth so hard they creaked. He looked at Roxy. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes, her lips swollen and bruised. She looked exhausted, yes, but she also looked peaceful and satisfied.

"Give her to me," Kaelen demanded, holding out his arms. "Get your scent off her."

"You will smell me on her for a week," Zarek smirked, but he stepped forward.

He transferred Roxy into Kaelen’s arms.

The moment her weight settled against him, Kaelen felt a mixture of relief and torture. She was back. She was safe. But Zarek was right, she reeked of him. Every inch of her skin, every strand of her hair, was saturated with the Dragon King’s essence. It was a brand, a claim that screamed MINE.

Kaelen pulled her close, burying his nose in her hair, desperately trying to find a trace of her own scent, vanilla, milk, Roxy, under the overwhelming dragon scent.

"I am leaving," Zarek announced abruptly, adjusting his robe.

Kaelen looked up, blinking. "What?"

"I must go to the Dragon Peaks," Zarek said, looking toward the distant mountains. His expression tightened. "Vorian sent a signal while... we were occupied. There is a matter with the Elders regarding the eggs. I must attend to it."

"You are leaving?" Kaelen asked, suspicion clouding his gaze. "Now?"

"I will return," Zarek promised. He reached out, brushing a stray hair from Roxy’s forehead while she slept in Kaelen’s arms. "Guard her, Wolf. If any harm comes to her, kill it."

"I do not need your orders to protect my mate," Kaelen spat.

Zarek didn’t respond. He turned and launched himself into the sky. With a rush of wind and a flash of black scales, he shifted mid-air, his massive wings beating against the dawn air as he flew East.

Kaelen watched him go until he was just a speck against the rising sun.

"Good riddance," he muttered.

He turned and carried Roxy into the cabin.

***

Inside, the air was warm and smelled of home, pine, herbs, and the milky scent of the sleeping pups.

Kaelen navigated the room silently. He passed the crib where Axel, Onyx, and Iris were piled together in a heap of fur. He passed Drax, who was sprawled starfish-style on his own small cot.

He carried Roxy to the bed.

He laid her down on the soft furs, careful not to wake her. She groaned low in her throat, shifting instinctively to curl into a ball. She grabbed a pillow, clutching it to her chest, burying her face in it as if hiding from the light.

She was out cold.

Kaelen stood by the bed, looking down at her.

His heart was hammering a painful rhythm against his ribs. He should walk away. He should go check the perimeter. He should start breakfast.

But he couldn’t move. He was... hungry.

Seeing her like this, disheveled, marked, smelling of sex, it didn’t just make him angry. It made him painfully, throbbingly hard.

His wolf brain didn’t care that the scent belonged to another male. It only registered that his mate was fertile, receptive, and had just been bred.

It triggered a competitive, primal need to overwrite the dragon’s claim with his own. To fill her with his scent. To remind her body who the Alpha of this forest was.

"Roxy," he whispered, his voice cracking.

She didn’t stir.

Kaelen sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight.

He reached out a trembling hand. He traced the line of her jaw. His fingers brushed against her neck, finding a red mark there, a love bite. Zarek’s mark.

Kaelen’s breath hitched. He hated it. He wanted to bite it off.

He leaned down, pressing his lips to her shoulder, just above the neckline of her dress. Her skin was warm. She tasted salty and sweet.

"You promised," he whispered against her skin. "You said next time would be mine."

He kissed his way up her neck. He wasn’t thinking clearly. The blood was rushing south, leaving his brain starved of oxygen. He just wanted to touch her. He wanted to feel her softness against his hardness.

His hand slid down her arm to her waist. He squeezed gently.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured, his other hand moving to her leg, sliding the hem of her dress up just an inch. "Even in sleep, you call to me."

He pressed a kiss to her ear.

"Roxy... wake up. Just for a moment. Look at me."

He nudged her gently. He ran his hand over her hip, his thumb rubbing circles into her flesh, trying to rouse her from the coma-like sleep Zarek had put her in.

Roxy frowned in her sleep. Her brow furrowed.

"Mmm..." she mumbled, trying to turn away.

Kaelen didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He needed her to know he was there. He leaned over her, his chest brushing hers, and kissed her cheek, then the corner of her mouth.

"Open for me," he pleaded softly, his hand moving higher on her thigh.

Roxy flinched.

Her hand shot out. Her palm connected weakly with Kaelen’s cheek with a sharp thwack.

Kaelen froze.

Roxy shifted, turning her back to him completely, pulling the furs over her head.

"Z..." she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep and annoyance. "Stop it... Z... I’m tired. No more."

Silence descended on the cabin.

Kaelen sat there, his cheek stinging, not from the force of the blow, but from the name she had whispered.

Z.

She thought he was the Dragon. She thought he was the one pestering her.

She didn’t even know Kaelen was there. In her mind, in her dreams, the only male who existed was Zarek. Even in her rejection, she was speaking to him.

Kaelen slowly lowered his hand from her leg.

His fist clenched at his side, his claws dug into his own palm, drawing droplets of blood.

He looked at her back. He looked at the woman he had built a house for. The woman he had changed his entire pack’s culture for. The woman he worshiped.

She was exhausted because of another man. She was dreaming of another man.

And Kaelen was just the guard dog sitting at the foot of the bed. A dark, bitter bile rose in his throat. It tasted like ash. It tasted like failure.

He stood up, his movements stiff and jerky. He looked at his throbbing erection with disdain, willing it to die.

"Zarek," he whispered the name like a curse.

He walked to the window, staring out at the forest, where the world wanted to take her away.

He knew she loved him. He knew she cared. But in moments like this, love felt like a very small thing compared to the consuming fire of the Dragon.

Kaelen turned back to look at her one last time. His eyes were no longer just icy blue; they were dark, swirling with a desperate, terrifying resolve.

He wouldn’t accept this scraps-from-the-table arrangement forever. He wouldn’t be the second choice.

Kaelen whispered into the shadows, his voice trembling with a vow that felt dangerous.

"But I would do anything so you can give me your time, Roxann. Even if I have to share with that lizard... I will make sure that when you scream next, you scream my name."

A/N: I am cooking something for christmas, stick around it’s going to be massive :3