Barre

"Barre!!!"

The sound that Elodie makes is otherworldly. It scrapes against my ears like a weapon of destruction. I rush to the cabin, throwing down my work as if it's wronged me. The animal hide and knife I wield go flying as I flee my hunting shed.

Rain pours around me, lightning lighting the sky with brilliant but dangerous light.

My ears strain as I run up the stairs. I knew I heard her call my name. She was desperate, loud. She needs me. And at a time like this, I can't risk anything.

Slamming the door open, I'm immediately met with Salsh, who proceeds to bark angrily at me. I shove past him, thundering through the house even as real thunder echoes my steps from the storm outside.

"Tiny?" I shout, glancing in the kitchen quickly before moving to the living room but my mate still escapes me. I continue to race until I catch her clutching the sides of the tub.

Her pale, smooth belly sticks out from the water, her face painted with pain.

"The baby.. The baby is coming." She bites out through clenched teeth. My mouth falls open. I don't know what to do for a moment. Its as if time itself has stopped around me, and I'm the only thing that can get it started again.

I push off the doorframe, my body gravitating towards her. Elodie immediately grabs at my hands trying to get me closer. I bend at the knees, lifting her very pregnant body from the bathwater. Her wet skin drips all over me, making my clothes stick to me.

"Barre, it hurts." She moans, clutching her big stomach.

Over the past months spent growing our kit, the doctor has assured me that it is very normal for childbirth to be painful. The reminder of the doctor has me turning to Salsh.

His ears are set upright, fully at attention as he watches me. At his side is a rasler pup I picked up recently, no taller than Salsh's tail. I decided since Elodie became heavy with child that we were in need of more protection when I'm not able to attend to her fully. Salsh has made it his mission to teach the young pup which Elodie has named Freddie. I tried to not react to the odd name.

"Salsh, fetch Doctor Johnston." I command, and he takes off running. Freddie follows closely behind, tripping over himself.

I carry Elodie to our room, slipping her naked body onto the blankets and pushing her face away from her face. Her orange strands stick to her freckle dotted cheeks. She's panting, and her green eyes are dull with agony.

My teeth clench together as she grips my hand with all her little strength will allow her.

"I wish I could take this pain on myself." I insist, shame gripping me as I watch my mate writhe in pain. I watch helplessly as her body tenses up. Her whole stomach hardens like a rock, the skin pulling across her belly as she tries to control her breathing.

"Aggghh."

"I know, I know." I murmur, petting her forehead. I have felt many kinds of pain, but I'm slowly realizing maybe I have not experienced anything like this. "You are a warrior. You are my little warrior."

She nods her head, but doesnt look convinced.

The door swings open, and my desperate eyes fly to the human female in the doorway. It's the doctor.

She's different from the other females I've met, but that is not a bad thing.

"Did her water break?" She barks the question at me, and I shoot her a desperate look at her.

"What?"

She rolls her dark eyes, parting my mate's legs as she puts on a pair of gloves.

"Her amniotic sac, did it break? Is that why she's wet?"

"No, she was taking a bath. I do not know what an amniotic sac is."

She looks inside my mate, nodding her head as she puts her fingers there.

"She's already dilated, I'd say about 7 centimeters."

I glare at her, not liking all of these unfamiliar words she's using around me.

"But that's so soon!" Elodie groans, her stomach tightening once again, she's in so much pain that she can no longer speak through it.

"It seems to be a quick labor. It could be due to the fact that it's an accelerated pregnancy. This baby is ready to come out." Doctor Johnston explains, wiping her arm across her forehead. Her skin is very dark, darker than I've ever seen. Her hair is short but thick and curly.

Elodie gasps for air, gripping my hand tighter as sweat slicks her fingers.

"He's ready to meet his Momma." She tells me, and I watch as she smiles lovingly up at me.

My heart stutters. I bend to kiss her roughly, ending the kiss with a tender peck.

"I'm not convinced its a male just yet. I'm still holding out." I tell her, my heart set on a little red haired female that resembles my mate in both beauty and spirit.

Elodie chuckles despite the agony still displayed all over her.

"This kit is a gladiator, just like his Pa."

A Pa. I am going to be a Pa.

I feel the blood drain from my face, even as my mate tenses once again as Elodie screams.

"You're okay, Dad. You need to be strong for her, okay?" Doctor Johnston's voice barely pierces through my brain fog. I climb off my knees, sitting beside my mate as tears roll down her perfect face.

I pull her onto my lap, determined to hold her against me.

"You're at a 9, Elodie, pretty soon I'm going to ask you to push."

"WHAT? Already?" My female demands, and I know I've never heard her sound so fierce in all the time I've known her. "That can't be right."

"Oh, it's right. Like I said, this baby is ready to be out. Are you ready?"

Elodie shoots me a panicked look, throwing her head back to see me.

"No, no. I don't think I am. I don't think I can do this."

I can see that Doctor Johnston is trying not to smile with amusement. I feel a spark of anger, but turn to my mate instead.

She needs me to be strong for her. For us. We are a family. I see the unsurety in her gaze, hear the trembling in her voice. I grab her face, leaning until her eyes meet mine. She's afraid. I despise that fear, but understand it. I cannot begin to fathom the pain she is experiencing.

"Tiny. You can do this. You do not admit defeat." I insist, my voice gruff. "I do not need to tell you how strong you are, because you already know."

Even though her lip trembles, even though her little body shakes, she fixes her jaw and nods her head up at me.

"Good girl." I praise, and her eyes twinkle as she refaces the female Doctor.

"You're a 10. You can start pushing."

Push she does. Baring her weight down on me, her whole body is tense as she screams with her effort. My mouth drops open witnessing it.

Elodie pushes, and pushes again, and again. Her power knows no limits as she refuses to be defeated by delivering our kit. Even Doctor Johnston's eyes widen as my mate battles in the bed for her victory.

"Here it comes! You're doing it, Elodie!" She encourages, and Elodie uses that momentum to finish it.

With a few more pushes, a newborn cry breaks the air. Elodie collapses in my lap, panting and gasping for air as exhaustion already makes her lids start drooping.

Our kit continues crying, and I'm hungry for a look at it. The Doctor quickly severs the tie between mother and child, bringing our baby to place in Elodie's shaking arms.

"Mother's intuition. There's something to be said about that." She winks, slipping the little bundle down to us. "It's a boy. Congratulations."

Elodie gasps, parting the blanket so we can take a look at our son.

His face is scrunched and angry, little fists swinging. His hair is dark like mine. The hair is plastered to his head. He's covered in blood and a white film. He's fresh from his mother's warm womb, and he's not too thrilled about it.

"My son." I murmur, cupping the side of the struggling bundle as tears fill my eyes. "Our son."

Elodie giggles, though she is crying too. She caressed his little, chubby cheeks with her fingertips, her hands still quivering from the ordeal.

And what an ordeal it was. I can scarcely believe we made it out the other side.

I pull my mate close to me, still snuggled in my lap, our kit going quiet in her arms as he blinks up at us. His eyes are light blue, like all babies, but I hope and pray to the gods that those shimering eyes will turn green like Eldoei's.

"We did good, Barre. Look at him." I look away from our child, focusing on her face above all else.

"You did good, my sweet mate. You fought and did not admit defeat." I grab her hand tightly and pulling it to my mouth, kissing each knuckle.

She beams at the praise, straining forward for a kiss. I grant it, before tucking her head into my neck and admiring my family over and over again.

Salsh and Freddie burst in the room, running past Doctor Johnston and jumping onto the nest. They sniff curiously at our son, but quickly lay at the end of the covers to stand guard. I smile at their nature.

Not so long ago I had nothing. I was alone. Desolate. A monster hidden in the shadows. I had no idea what was to come, the blessing that the gods would grant me. It all started on that fateful day, the day I found Elodie in the woods, hurt and alone. I may have saved her that day, but in reality, she was the one that saved me.

"My Elodie, my sweet tiny mate, I did not live until I met you." I whisper to her, watching more tears flood her face as she nods.

"Me neither, Barre. This is the life I've always dreamed of. I love you."

I couldn't have said it better myself.



Thank you for joining this journey :)

I hope I'll see you all for the announcement of book 5 Have a fantastic weekend ❤️❤️