Sothing was bothering Ren.
But the one thing he knew was that he could definitely not tell her anything.
But as he felt her small, warm hands gently stroking the nape of his neck, his resolve hardened into unbreakable iron. He could not do that to her. He would not.
With a monuntal effort of sheer willpower, Ren pulled back, stepping out of the warm, comforting cage of her arms.
The physical loss of her heat felt like a knife twisting in his gut, but as he lifted his head, the charming, playful mask of the Fox Beastman snapped flawlessly back into place.
"It is nothing, my beautiful Queen," Ren said, offering her a smooth, practiced smile that didn’t quite reach the heavy shadows lingering in his green eyes. He took a step back, gently untangling his bushy red tail from her leg. "Just the exhaustion of the road. Distributing the cure and dealing with my father took more out of than I anticipated. My core is simply fatigued."
Roxy frowned, her hands dropping to her sides. Her maternal instincts and her deep connection to her mates told her that he was lying, or at least, heavily omitting the truth. The desperate, starving intensity of his kiss just monts ago had not been born of simple physical fatigue.
"Are you sure?" Roxy pressed softly, taking a half-step toward him. "You can stay here with . Or we can go back to the room..."
"No, I..." Ren swallowed hard, averting his gaze to the sleeping pups on the floor so he wouldn’t have to look into her beautiful, concerned eyes. "I need so ti to myself. To ditate and realign my mana. I should go to one of the guest rooms so I don’t disturb your sleep. Please, Roxy. Just let rest."
Roxy didn’t understand. It went against everything she knew about her incredibly tactile, affectionate Fox to pull away when he was hurting.
But the sheer exhaustion of her own body was clouding her judgnt, and she respected him too much to force an interrogation when he was clearly begging for space.
"Okay," Roxy whispered, her heart aching slightly at the distance between them. "If you need anything... I am right here."
"I know," Ren murmured softly. He offered a slight, formal bow, his red hair falling over his eyes. "Goodnight, my Queen."
Ren turned and slipped silently out of the nursery door, vanishing into the dark hallway.
Roxy stood alone in the moonlight for several long minutes, a heavy sense of unease pooling in her chest. She rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling very cold.
Deciding not to return to the empty master bedroom right away, Roxy walked over to the plush, heated rug where Axel and Onyx were sleeping.
She grabbed a thick woven blanket from a nearby chair, draped it over her shoulders, and sank down onto the floor beside her children.
Surrounded by the steady, rhythmic breathing of the pups, Roxy closed her eyes. The profound exhaustion of her pregnancy finally dragged her under.
***
When Roxy woke up again, she found she was at a different spot.
She was no longer lying on the slightly stiff rugs of the nursery. She was enveloped in an ocean of impossible softness and blistering, suffocating heat.
Soti during the night, one of the Alpha Kings must have discovered her sleeping on the floor and carried her back to the master suite.
She was currently sandwiched perfectly in the center of the massive bed. Beside her, Zarek lay like a solid, immovable brick wall, his arm tucked securely beneath her neck, his rhythmic breathing puffing hot air against her hair.
At her right, Torian was curled around her, his thick arm thrown heavily over her waist. The White Tiger’s massive, calloused hand was resting directly, possessively, over the flat plane of her lower stomach, guarding the new life growing within.
It was an incredibly comforting, overwhelmingly secure position.
But as Roxy tried to stretch her stiff legs, a sharp, sudden, and deeply uncomfortable pinch flared in her lower back and pelvis.
"Mmn," Roxy whimpered softly, her face scrunching up in pain. The physical ache was startling.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the absolute center of her mind.
[Child, you must turn. Lying flat upon your back in this state is detrintal to the vessel.]
Roxy completely froze. Her breath hitched in her throat.
The voice was warm, ancient, and undeniably maternal. It didn’t belong to the cold, chanical System that had tortured her, nor did it carry the dark, abyssal resonance of Nerissa. It was a voice she had not heard since before she had plumted into the ocean months ago.
MotheroftheWorld? Roxy thought frantically, her eyes flying open in the dim room.
[I am here, my brave daughter,] the MotheroftheWorld replied.
[You must correct your posture imdiately. The Tiger’s seed is incredibly potent. It requires a massive, steady flow of your life force, and lying flat on your back compresses the mana pathways along your spine. Turn to your side.]
Roxy didn’t hesitate. She imdiately shifted, rolling carefully onto her side to alleviate the pressure on her lower back.
The movent brought her face-to-face with Torian. Because of how closely he was holding her, her nose practically brushed against the White Tiger’s bare, muscular pectoral.
The sheer expanse of his defined chest was right in her line of sight. Given the sudden, intense spike in her pregnancy hormones and the lingering effects of the Tiger’s Vitality buff, waking up to the magnificent, primal perfection of her mate’s body was absolute overkill. A furious blush imdiately stained her cheeks.
She forced her eyes up to Torian’s sleeping face to distract herself.
Where were you? Roxy asked, her ntal voice thick with a mixture of profound relief and lingering hurt. When I was in the Spires... you were completely gone. I called for you.
Another voice, deep and resonant, chid into her consciousness.
[We heard you, Roxann,] the WorldbuildingGod spoke, his tone heavy with divine fatigue. [But we could not answer. We have been fighting just to reach you again.]
Roxy’s eyes narrowed at the screen in front of her?
[Fiercely,] the MotheroftheWorld confird. [We are imasurably proud of you, Roxy.]
Roxy didn’t ask further questions. She didn’t want to think about anything right now. She was just overwhelmingly, profoundly glad that her divine sponsors, the gods who had actually cared for her since she transmigrated, were finally back. She wasn’t entirely alone against the chanics of the world anymore.
[Your body is adapting miraculously well to the Alpha pregnancy,] the WorldbuildingGod advised, shifting the topic to her imdiate survival. [However, you cannot remain sedentary. The magic required to gestate a Beastman cub relies heavily on circulation. You must move around more during this period. Resting is vital, but stagnation will weaken your core.]
I understand, Roxy replied ntally. I need to stay active.
As if her body was entirely in agreent with the gods’ assessnt of her needs, a sudden, violent rumble echoed from her stomach. The pain in her lower back had vanished, instantly replaced by a ravenous, demanding hunger. The pregnancy cravings hit her.
Roxy licked her dry lips. She looked at the massive Tiger sleeping peacefully in front of her.
She reached out her small hand, poking Torian squarely in the center of his chest.
"Rian," Roxy whispered.
Torian stirred awake.
"Roxy?" Torian rumbled, his voice thick with sleep but laced with imdiate concern. His hand flexed over her stomach. "What is it? Are you in pain? Is it the cub?"
"No, I’m perfectly fine," Roxy assured him, a small, slightly sheepish smile touching her lips. "But I need to get out of bed. The... the gods told I need to move around more to keep my strength up."
Torian blinked, clearly startled by the casual ntion of divine intervention, but he accepted it without question. "Move around? Now? The sun isn’t even up yet."
"I know," Roxy admitted, her stomach letting out another loud, embarrassing growl. "But I am also starving. I want hot noodles. With spicy chicken broth, extra garlic, and a mountain of chopped at."
Torian stared at her for a mont, the fierce, protective warlord lting entirely into a deeply devoted, thoroughly whipped mate.
A slow, incredibly fond smile spread across his scarred face. He sat up, pushing the heavy furs aside, and effortlessly scooped her up into his arms, completely ignoring her protests that she needed to walk.
"Then let’s get cooking."
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