Falco
Awoken by the light coming in around the edges of the curtain covering the bedroom window, I squinted before pulling the blankets over my head and pulling my body pillow tighter into me.
One of the many pillows I needed to sleep with lately.
Perhaps that was my body’s version of nesting.
Though most of the pillows ended up on the floor by morning.
Vern snuggled in behind me then kissed the back of my neck as he reached around to rub his palm across my belly. “How are you and the little ones doing this morning?”
I nuzzled into my pillow, not ready to get up yet. “Good.”
It hadn’t taken long for me to get pregnant.
In all the mpreg fan fic that I’d read, the male who could get pregnant went into heat.
Yet, I don’t remember that ever happening to me.
I didn’t know if it had to do with the fact that I was human and not a shifter, or if I’d simply gotten pregnant right away.
The same day as our mating ceremony based on how much my stomach had grown already.
Vern stilled his palm on the side of my belly where I felt one of my babies pressing from inside me. “I think someone’s feeling a little crowded in there today. I’d better get up and get the birthing center finished before our little ones decide they’re ready to meet the world.”
With a chuckle, I held my hand over his and lightly tried to push the little one back into place.
I didn’t know how many babies I carried, but there were at least two of them.
And they seemed most active when I tried to sleep.
As if my movement caused them to rest, but they didn’t allow me the same courtesy.
“I’m going to stay in bed a little longer. See if I can get a bit more sleep.”
The baby on the other side of my belly didn’t like that idea, choosing that moment to object with force. It felt like the little one kicked my belly with all four paws. I gasped at the sudden discomfort.
“That one seems to want you out of bed.” Vern flung the covers off himself and sat up. “Did you get any sleep at all last night?”
“Yeah, some.” I got out of bed, too, inundated with the sudden urge to empty my bladder. “But I’ll likely be walking around half asleep all day.”
By the time Vern was ready to leave, I’d managed to waddle out to the door to see him off.
Before having my own babies growing in my belly, I’d always wondered why pregnant people in my world walked in such a manner.
The experience made me sympathize with them, especially those who carried more than one at the same time.
With his trapper hat and tool belt in place, Vern cupped my elbows as he kissed my forehead. “Are you going to Walter’s again today?”
I nodded. “In a bit.” Being as far along as I was, Vern didn’t want me home by myself.
He would stay if I asked him to, but I knew his work was also important to him.
As was the completion of the birthing center for both of us.
So, I went to the home of one of the other outer-worlders where they could keep an eye on my pregnant self and answer more questions I’d come up with about raising babies, especially ones that would be born as an animal and eventually shift to human form.
I would be the first outer-worlder to give birth to beaver shifters, so no one knew exactly how my delivery would go.
“Okay, good.” Moving to my side to get around my big belly, he kissed me on the lips. “If you have any problems at all, have someone come get me. I think Rauh was planning to visit you there today, too.”
“Good, I do have questions for him.” The village healer had obtained books from the outer world about beaver and human deliveries and read them when he wasn’t supervising the building of the birthing center.
“You sure you’re going to be okay?”
“I love you.” I pressed my palm to Vern’s chest and pushed him out the door. I knew he lingered with worry, but I didn’t yet feel that my babies were ready to come out.
“I love you, too.” He walked backward for a bit before he turned around and headed to work.
With my mate gone, I washed up with the water he’d drawn from the well the night before.
After getting dressed in a loose-fitting pair of shorts and a tank top, I headed to the kitchen to figure out what to eat.
Pregnancy had led to some strange cravings, some of which couldn’t be satisfied in the Enchanted Forest, and a repulsion toward foods I used to love.
Biscuits were always a safe bet, and I found one left in the basket on the counter.
Lonnie, Banir’s mate, made a delicious berry spread, and I added some of that to my breakfast. After a quick tidy, I slid on a pair of sandals and headed to the home of the outer-worlder who’d been in the enchanted world the longest.
The day was beautiful. While the sun shone bright in the sky, it didn’t feel too hot with the cool breeze.
Being pregnant, I was thankful I had yet to experience any humid days like what we often endured on summer days back in the outer-world.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to suffer through that weather in my condition.
I would likely stay indoors in my bed with ice packs all over me.
Or find a spot to camp out in the part of the forest with the thickest canopy.
The wind rustled through the tall grasses as I approached Walter’s place.
He really did have a nice location, but I preferred to be closer to the village.
Sudden movement around me snapped me to attention.
Not one thing rushing through the vegetation but several.
And all heading in my direction. Panic clenched my heart until I saw the reddish-brown hair of one of Banir and Lonnie’s children.
“Hello, kids.” I glanced around as several youngsters giggled as they popped their heads up from the grassy field. “Were you trying to scare me?”
“Yep.” One of them stuck his tongue out then took off toward the house. The rest seemed to follow except Ellis, one of Nelson and Holden’s sons. He took my hand as we walked together on the path.
He glanced up at me. “Are your babies ready to come out yet?”
I smiled. Ellis had been so shy and timid when I first met him even though he adored Vern, but he always came up to me to ask about my babies once he found out I was pregnant.
“Not yet. But soon, I think. There’s not much room left for them to grow.
They’ll have to come out before they get any bigger. ”
With a giggle, he tugged my hand. “Can I touch your belly and talk to them?”
“Yes, you can.” Teaching kids to ask to touch was a lesson I was thankful his parents had taught him, and one of the many things I mentally made a note of to make sure my kids knew growing up.
Placing his palms on the sides of my stomach, Ellis leaned so close that his nose nearly made contact with my protruding belly button.
“Hello in there. This is Ellis speaking. I’m a kid like you.
I want you to come out so we can all play with you.
I know you’ll be too little at first, but we’ll have lots of fun once you’re big enough.
And don’t worry. Everyone out here is super nice.
Especially your dad whose belly you’re in.
I can’t wait to meet you.” He grinned up at me then skipped ahead on the path.
“My dad and the healer are waiting for you. They sent us to make sure you were okay. Hurry up now.”
With a chuckle, I tried to walk a little faster.