Chapter 178: Episode 177: We will keep them safe.

“We’ll keep them safe,” Knox assured Rue.

He gripped her small shoulders. His massive hands felt warm, but Rue couldn’t stop shaking. A cold, awful dread pooled in her stomach. She knew the stories about rogue hyenas from this body’s memories.

They weren’t a friendly species. They didn’t fight for honour or territory. They just liked to steal and destroy. They preyed on the weak, snatching up unprotected cubs in the dead of night.

Now, they were howling right outside her front gates.

“Stay inside,” Drax ordered. The Dragon King didn’t look tired anymore. His dark eyes burned with a fierce, glowing fire. “Don’t come out until I call your name.”

The four men didn’t waste another second. They moved as one solid unit. Onyx shifted into his massive black wolf form before he even hit the porch. Axel drew a long, jagged blade from his belt. Knox let out a deafening roar, his muscles bulging as thick panther fur ripped through his clothes. Drax took the lead, his hands already glowing with hot golden flames.

They rushed out the front door, slamming the thick wood shut behind them.

Rue stood frozen in the middle of the living room. The heavy iron latch clicked into place, locking her inside.

Outside, the quiet afternoon turned into a nightmare.

The sounds of the battle started instantly. She heard the sickening crunch of bone. She heard the loud, frantic yelps of the dying beasts. Drax’s fire roared like a wild hurricane, making the stone walls of the house vibrate. But the worst part was the sheer volume of the enemy. The hyenas didn’t stop howling. The woods echoed with hundreds of snapping jaws and scratching claws.

There were too many of them.

Rue took a ragged breath. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She squeezed her eyes shut. She waited for the familiar bright blue light to flash. She waited for the sharp ringing sound in her head.

Tell me what to do, she begged in her mind. Give me a mission. Tell me how many are out there.

She waited.

Nothing happened. The magical system stayed completely dead. The glowing blue letters didn’t pop up to offer a survival skill or a fancy reward. The air stayed empty. When she actually needed the strange magic to help her, it just vanished. She was on her own.

A loud thud hit the side of the house.

Rue jumped. She spun around, staring at the dark hallway.

She couldn’t stand here freezing up. She had to move.

She ran down the dim hall, her bare feet slipping on the smooth stone. She burst into the nursery. Theron and Mochi sat huddled together in the corner. They weren’t playing anymore. The loud noises outside scared the fun right out of them. Mochi pressed her face into Theron’s shoulder. The snake boy wrapped his skinny arms around the leopard cub, trying his best to look brave.

Seika woke up in her wooden crib. The baby panther started to fuss, kicking her tiny legs against the pink blanket.

Rue scooped the baby up. She held Seika tight against her chest, letting the baby’s warmth ground her racing heart.

She looked around the cozy room. The nursery suddenly felt like a terrible trap. The walls felt too thin. The glass window sat way too close to the ground. If a feral hyena managed to slip past the men in the yard, they could smash right through the fragile glass in two seconds.

She couldn’t keep her babies in here. They were too vulnerable.

“Theron, grab Mochi’s hand,” Rue ordered. She kept her voice as steady as she could. She didn’t want the kids to hear the raw panic choking her throat. “We’re moving to the big room.”

Theron nodded fast. He grabbed the little girl’s hand and pulled her up from the rug.

Rue led them out of the nursery. They hurried down the hallway, moving away from the front of the house. Another heavy crash shook the wooden beams above their heads. Axel shouted something outside, his voice rough and angry. A wolf snarled loud enough to rattle the floorboards.

They reached the master bedroom at the very end of the hall.

This room belonged to Drax. It was built like a vault. The walls were made of thick, reinforced stone. The heavy oak doors had solid iron locks. The windows sat high up near the ceiling, way out of reach for a jumping beast.

Rue pushed the kids inside. She ran straight to the tall windows. She grabbed the heavy iron latches and pulled them down hard, sealing the thick glass tight. She yanked the dark velvet curtains shut, plunging the room into shadows.

“Sit right here,” Rue whispered, pointing to the thick gray fur rugs near the massive circular bed.

Theron and Mochi scrambled onto the soft furs. They pulled their knees up to their chests, pressing their backs against the solid stone wall.

Rue paced the floor. She bounced Seika gently, trying to keep the baby calm. The thick walls muffled the awful sounds of the war outside, but she could still hear the heavy thuds and the cracking wood.

The hyenas wanted to break in. They smelled the fresh meat. They smelled the soft cubs hiding in the dark.

Seika didn’t like the tension in the room. The baby panther let out a high, sharp whine. She rooted her tiny face against Rue’s green dress. She wasn’t just scared. She was hungry. It was past her feeding time, and the loud chaos woke her up early.

The soft whine turned into a loud, demanding cry.

Rue’s stomach dropped. A crying baby was a dinner bell for a pack of starving scavengers.

“Shh, baby, please don’t cry,” Rue pleaded. She bounced her heels, rubbing the baby’s warm back. “Mama’s right here. It’s okay.”

Seika ignored her. The baby opened her mouth and wailed louder. The sound pierced the quiet bedroom.

Rue reached into her pockets, praying she shoved a pacifier or a soft cloth in there earlier. Her pockets were empty. She looked around the dark bedroom. Drax didn’t keep baby supplies in his pristine sanctuary. There were no wooden rattles. There were no soft blankets to chew on.

She needed the milk bottle.

She left it on the kitchen counter.

Rue stopped pacing. A hot, frustrating wave of tears burned the back of her eyes. She wanted to scream. She did everything right. She moved them to the safest room. She locked the windows. She kept her head straight while a war raged on her front lawn. But she forgot the food.

It was such a tiny, stupid mistake. But right now, it felt like the end of the world.

She couldn’t just sit here and let Seika scream. The baby would work herself into a fever. But she couldn’t take a crying infant back out into the exposed hallway. The kitchen sat right next to the living room, dangerously close to the front doors.

She had to leave them here.

She had to go back out there alone.

Rue walked over to the thick fur rug. She knelt down next to the toddlers. She forced a bright, fake smile onto her face.

“Theron, you’re the big brother today,” Rue whispered softly.

She carefully lowered Seika onto the soft rug. She placed the crying baby right in front of the little snake boy. Theron looked at the crying infant, his golden eyes wide with serious duty.

“I need you to watch her,” Rue told him. She smoothed his messy silver hair. “Don’t let Mochi stand up. Don’t go near the door. Just stay right here on the rug.”

“Where’re you going?” Theron asked. His tiny voice wobbled. He didn’t want her to leave. He grabbed the edge of her green dress.

Rue swallowed the hard lump in her throat. She gently pried his chubby fingers off her clothes. She couldn’t afford to break down right now. She had to be fast. If she moved quickly, she could run down the hall, grab the warm milk from the counter, and be back before the hyenas even got past the front gates.

“I forgot Seika’s milk,” Rue explained. She leaned forward and kissed Theron’s forehead. She kissed Mochi’s cheek. “You’re doing such a good job. Both of you are so brave. Keep her safe for me.”

Theron nodded slowly. He wrapped his small arms around Seika’s wiggling body, trying his best to comfort his crying sister.

Rue stood up. Her knees felt like jelly.

She turned away from her babies. She walked to the heavy oak door. She grabbed the cool iron handle and pulled it open just enough to slip her body through.

The hallway was pitch black. The fire in the living room hearth burned out. The only light came from the thin cracks around the front door.

Another massive crash shook the fortress. Someone slammed hard against the outer stone wall. The hyenas were getting closer. The men couldn’t hold them all back. There were just too many.

Rue pulled the bedroom door shut behind her.

She grabbed the heavy iron key resting in the lock. Her hands shook so badly she dropped it on the first try. She scooped it up from the floorboards, her breath hitching in a quiet sob. She shoved the cold metal into the slot and turned it hard.

The lock clicked into place with a heavy, final thud.

She locked the door tightly, as she left the room. “We’re only going to take a second.”