Me? I’m all too familiar with it. This is different, though. I tell myself that even as I sit up and give the healer a brave smile.
Maylak’s expression is relaxed as she folds her legs and sits down next to me. “Rukh, do you know of the green tri-leaf plant? When you crush the leaves, it smells foul, like three day old meat.”
He gives her a brief nod.
“Could you get some? It makes a strong tea that is good for the kit, and it is best taken fresh from the plant. There are bushes nearby.” The healer’s gaze is direct as she stares down my mate.
He looks to me, and then gets to his feet. “I will be back soon.”
It’s silent until he leaves the cave, and then Maylak turns to me. Her gentle expression is apologetic. “The tea is quite awful, I must warn you, but it is beneficial.”
“You weren’t just trying to get him out of here so he wouldn’t—” There’s no word for ‘hover’ in their language. “Um, be in the way?”
“There is that, too,” Maylak says. Her hand grips mine. “Does the tribe need to intervene?”
I blink at her, not sure what she means. Intervene with what? Then I realize what she means – do they need to intervene and get Rukh away from me? I gasp and jerk my hand from hers. “What? No! I love him.”
“I just wanted to be sure this was of your choosing. Males do not tend to see reason when they resonate.” She smiles to take the sting out of her words. “I did not wish to offend you, but I had to know. His father—“
“I know about his father,” I snap, still reeling. Do they all think this is crazy Stockholm Syndrome? That because Rukh is devoted and caring that he’s fucked the brains out of my head? I love him. Maybe I was scared of him at first, but that was because he didn’t know how to act around people. He’s come so far, and I couldn’t ask for a more attentive, thoughtful, funny, smart, handsome, intelligent mate. I know I’m being rude to Maylak, who’s exhausted herself trying to heal me, but I’m still offended. “I’m sorry if I yelled. I just feel protective of him.”
She nods and pushes the blankets off my belly, all business once more. “I thought so, but I had to ask. Sometimes it is hard to tell.” Her fingers prod the side of my stomach, and she looks up at me. “Any pain here today?”
I shake my head. For the first time in what feels like forever, the nagging ache in my side is gone. “No. It feels good.”
She nods. “Your child is healthy, but your body struggles to create enough food for it. There is a…thing the body creates when a kit comes out of the mother. We call it the ‘life meat’。”
Well, that sounds gross. I’m growing a baby and ‘life meat’ inside me. “The placenta?”
“It is not nourishing your kit as it should. Your child will come early.”
My hands go to my belly, caressing it. “Is that bad?”
“No. It just means you will be with us for a while longer.”
I relax. “I’m ready to stop being pregnant.”
Maylak grins, her sharp teeth showing. “I know this feeling well. But for you, it will not be much longer now.”
I can hardly wait.
? ? ?
The next week crawls by slowly.
I sleep a lot, thanks to the baby and Maylak’s healing. Since I’m confined to the caves, there’s not much to do when people aren’t visiting. And since my mate is skittish around all these people, I do a lot of shooing off even the most well-intentioned of visitors.
Much has changed in the tribe since I was here last. They’ve split into two caves, with half of the group living in a network of caves to the south. Kira and Aehako are there, along with a lot of the single women and men. Tiffany, Josie and Claire are the only girls that haven’t mated yet, and so they are there as well. The main cave is full of pregnant couples, since they need to be close to the healer.
Rukh and I are made comfortable in a cave that is used for meat storage, and everyone stops by to bring us extra furs or additional food or even baby clothes. My mate is clearly uncomfortable whenever people arrive, and he takes to spending a lot of time with Raahosh, hunting. The two men leave at dawn every morning and go out to provide meat for the tribe. Rukh has confessed to me that he feels obligated to Maylak for her help, and so he hunts not only for us, but for her and her family. I personally think a lot of it is stress relief, and I’m happy that Raahosh goes with him. Every time Rukh disappears, there’s a nagging worry in my mind that he won’t come back. That he’ll just walk and keep going, deciding that life alone is less of a hassle than a pregnant mate and people constantly in your face.