Page 13

CHAPTER SEVEN

Vartok

Frankly, it was amazing I managed to accomplish anything that next day.

I learned long ago that I couldn’t work with metal if my focus wasn’t completely present. That was how mistakes happened and injuries occurred; more than one of my blades had warped during quenching since I’d become distracted by the clan’s business.

There was a long list of projects my clan—and our allies—were waiting on me to make or fix. Since becoming acting chief, I had far less time to work in my forge, so I should spend each available hour working.

But how could I, when I remembered the taste of my Mate’s release on my tongue?

How could I, knowing she would be coming to me again tonight ?

And so I didn’t bother trying to work steel. Instead, I pulled out Myra’s mother’s knife. ‘Twas not poorly made, just old. I scoured and dipped it, prepared to give it a new life. Then I began to carefully shape a piece of leather for the hilt, which I would wrap in cordage to conform to her hand.

I was just beginning the process of cutting the leather when Klorbkal arrived, grumbling about the Battleborn again. I sat him on one of the barrels near the forge and pretended to listen as I focused on my task.

But when Gornalk and then Gruptor arrived, each wanting to discuss the possible threat, I knew my day would not, in fact be spent at the forge.

I wondered if I could convince them to move to the sparring field.

At least then I’d be sweaty and distracted by training as I listened to their arguments again.

Thank the gods, it worked, and by the time the sun began to set, we were all exhausted and sore.

At least, my opponents were. I was invigorated by the knowledge that Myra would be coming to me soon, that I would teach her more about her body, more about pleasure. So, I washed quickly and made my excuses to hurry home.

Gruptor, however, stopped me.

“Are congratulations in order, lad?”

I froze in the act of swinging my fur cloak around me.

“Eh?”

“Ye’ve been acting normal, but every once in a while, yer eyes will glow. Have ye found yer Mate, then? ”

Well, fook .

When an orc was under stress, or tied up in a deep emotion, his eyes glowed green. ‘Twas most commonly seen during the Mating Heat, or afterwards. I’d been fighting my Kteer for a half year, hoping there were no such signs.

So now I offered the other warrior an easy grin and continued to settle my fur around my shoulders.

“Ye ken I’ve been looking for a Mate for years.”

Not exactly a denial.

“Nay, ye havenae,” Gruptor chuckled, slapping my back. “What ye’ve been doing, laddie, is verra different, but I’ve heard the females dinnae mind. Still…”

The way he paused had me frowning.

“Aye?”

He sighed. “If Kragorn doesnae return, and ye have to stay our chief—I ken, I ken, ye dinnae want the role.” He shrugged.

“Kragorn isnae Mated and has nae sons. Ye’ll need a son to lead the clan one day.

The future of the Bloodfire Clan rests on yer shoulders, laddie.

Mayhap ye’d better get serious about finding yer Mate? ”

With that, the older warrior strode back toward his cottage—with his Mate and kitlings—leaving me to stare, stricken after him.

I didn’t want my brother’s role.

But…

But the thought of a son—a kitling with Myra? A lad who looked like me, with her quiet intensity? Or a lassie who looked like her, whom I could teach to wield a hammer? A kitling who would be the best of both of us?

I wanted that.

I wanted that so badly, I could taste it.

But in order for it to happen, I needed to convince her to see me as more than just a teacher. More than a tutor in the art of pleasure.

Sighing, I scrubbed a hand over my face and headed back to my cottage, where I lit every candle I could find, built up the fire in my hearth to a cheery roar, and began to wrap Myra’s knife handle in leather strips.

But when my project was complete, I realized the fire had died down to embers, the candles were melted…and Myra hadn’t come.

My first reaction was worry that something had happened, but it faded to irritation. I’d told her to come to me tonight! I’d commanded it, and she’d agreed, like the good lass she was. She would have told me if she was uncomfortable with it, would she not?

Scowling now, I slid her knife into the sheath I’d made for it, blew out the candles, and yanked open the door. The air smelled of snow, but I cared naught for that right now.

Instead, I stomped across the village, heading for Mkaalad’s home. ‘Twas not so late that I couldn’t call on them, and I would see her expression when I demanded to know why she hadn’t done as I’d demanded.

This time, I wouldn’t use a flimsy excuse about needing a healer, either. I would announce to the world what we were sharing, no matter how panicked she looked .

Fook .

My steps slowed as I reached their cottage, and I admitted the truth to myself. I would never hurt Myra, and that included embarrassing her. I’d better come up with an excuse for my visit; the knife was good enough, I suppose. I needed to measure her hand so I could mold the leather.

I knocked on the door and took a deep breath, expecting to have to explain to Mkaalad why I was visiting after dark.

But Myra was the one to yank open the door.

And she looked frantic .

My Kteer reacted instinctively, and I surged forward, my hands going to her shoulders.

“What is it, dkaar ? What’s wrong?”

And that’s when I heard it; a long, low moan coming from the bed on the other side of the cottage.

Avaleen.

“Avie,” Myra all but moaned, pulling me inside. “She has at least a sennight to go.”

Mkaalad was suddenly there, looming over us, looking terrified.

“Ye said ‘twas normal for a mother to begin to labor a few weeks early or a few weeks late. Ye said this wasnae something to worry about.”

Before my eyes, Myra’s panic disappeared. She hid her earlier desperation behind a cool, calm expression when she turned to my cousin.

“Aye, I did, and I was right. Everything is fine; this is normal.”

I gaped, impressed beyond words. This was how Myra handled her patients, the people who came to her for healing? What I had always taken for iciness…was it merely a facade, meant to calm others’ pain and panic?

And she let ye see her real self, her real feelings .

This was important in a way I couldn’t grasp yet. I would consider it when I wasn’t standing in the home of a female about to give birth.

“How can I help?” I asked.

And when Myra turned her grateful gaze my way—I marveled that I could read her meaning behind her eyes—I felt like a hero.

“Take Mkaalad out of here.”

“Nay!” my cousin cried, stumbling toward the bed. “I’ll no’ leave my Mate, no’ when she’s going into battle like this.”

“Love,” came Avaleen’s calm voice from the bed. “This is just the beginning, I swear. We have many hours to go, and you being here, being worried…”

Myra crossed to take Mkaalad’s arm. “Your panic will infect her, and that is not fair. We both need you to be calm and focused when you are here.”

“I can be calm! I can be focused!” my cousin cried, throwing off Myra’s hand.

And between one blink and the next, I was at her side, ready to catch her. She sent me an exasperated glance as she clucked her tongue at my cousin .

“I swear, Mkaalad, you will be here for the birth. Avaleen will need you then, when things get difficult.”

“Things look pretty gods-damned difficult now,” he roared, and even as I winced, I had to agree with him.

“Mate,” Avaleen whispered, and my cousin immediately dropped to his knees beside the bed.

Myra’s arm slipped through mine, pulling me back. When I glanced down at her, she sighed.

“Let us give them a moment. But I am beyond grateful you showed up when you did, Vartok. I really do need someone to keep him busy until at least…” She winced slightly. “Midnight at the earliest.”

“Can I fetch Nan for ye?”

“Nan is already asleep. I hope not to need her as the labor progresses, but best let her sleep now, just in case. You could stop by Amma’s home and mayhap Maybal’s. They will spread the word, and I am certain Avaleen would appreciate having her friends with her in these early hours.”

I glanced at Mkaalad.

“More than her Mate?”

“She loves him with all her heart, which means she will worry for his heart and his mind. If he is frantic for her, she will feel the same. Best to keep him away until the real pain starts, when she will be too focused, too angry, to worry about his fears.”

This made sense to me, although I knew naught about laboring women. So I caught her hand in mine and lifted her fingertips to my mouth .

“I will bring him back. I would stand with my Mate when she went through such an ordeal, and I ken he will want this as well.”

Myra had caught her breath at my words—the vow . Did she hear the unspoken meaning? That I had already found my Mate, the female I wanted to bear my bairns, if the gods granted them to us?

Mayhap not, because when Mkaalad rose, she turned away, hustling us both out the door while pretending great cheer for her sister.

Remarkable .

I did as she asked, pulling my cousin out the door, and dragging him around the village to alert Avaleen’s friends.

The rumor was that Torvolk’s Mating Heat had finally broken, and I considered fetching him to calm his brother, but ultimately just brought Mkaalad back to my cottage, where I did my best to get him drunk.

It didn’t work, even with the help of a few of the council members who arrived. Mkaalad paced and worried, and I admitted I completely understood Myra’s concerns.

Midnight came and went, and finally I agreed to return to my cousin’s cottage. I was curious as well, and it became clear Mkaalad couldn’t wait any longer.

But to my surprise, the moment we stepped inside, his entire demeanor shifted. Mayhap ‘twas because of Avaleen’s actions.

The sweet, kind woman who always had a smile for everyone, who loved the village animals, was hanging from Myra’s arms and screaming like a madwoman. My cousin stepped up, slid his arms around his Mate, and began to pace, whispering soft words until her contraction passed.

Worried, I caught Myra.

“Are ye hurt, lass?” I whispered. “Yer sister looks strong.”

“She is,” she agreed, blowing out a weary breath. “But so am I. Thank God you returned when you did. I need help.”

My Kteer sat up and purred, and I nodded firmly.

“Aught, Myra. There’s naught I willnae do for ye.”

And that is how I spent the rest of the evening toting buckets of water, caring for the fire, telling more ribald tales than I expected—they made Avaleen laugh, which was good—and a few times even lending my arm for her to lean on as she paced.

When the labor grew worse, just before dawn, Myra settled her sister onto the birthing stool Mkaalad had made, and bid my cousin to crouch behind her, to keep her upright.

With her hands on her sister’s stomach, Myra nodded sternly. “This is it, Avie. You are about to meet your son.”

“Or daughter,” Mkaalad cut in.

“When your body tells you to push, bear down.”

“He is coming,” Avaleen groaned. “Now .”

“You can do it,” Myra whispered, sliding her hand beneath her sister’s chemise. “I love you.”

“I love ye too,” Mkaalad grunted.

Avaleen merely screamed in agony.

And an incredibly full few moments later, she held her squalling purple bairn.

“A girl,” she whispered, gazing in awe down at the kitling who had her dark curls. “A daughter.”

“A lassie,” whooped my cousin, enfolding them both. And as the bairn continued to cry, her parents began to laugh in joy.

And me?

I did my best to pretend the whole experience had been beautiful, and not traumatizing as all the hells. ‘Twas both, I suppose, and I could understand why Mkaalad and Avaleen continued to laugh in relief as Myra bustled about.

In fact, long after Avaleen was settled in bed with a new chemise, and the bairn bathed and nestled at her breast, and Mkaalad holding them both, Myra continued to work.

She did arcane things with the afterbirth, she washed linens, she cleaned the cottage.

I did what I could to help, but the long night was dragging on me.

How did she have this much energy?

‘Twas only when I caught her hand and she swung to face me that I saw the truth in her eyes. Myra was only minutes from collapsing.

“Slow down, lass. Ye must be exhausted.”

“Avie will sleep soon,” she blurted. “Someone has to sit up with the bairn.”

“’Twill no’ be ye,” I said sternly. “Ye need yer rest too. Ye’ve done what ye do best, now allow Nan and the other women to help. ”

She opened her mouth—to protest, I knew—and I allowed the growl my Kteer demanded to slip loose.

“ Ye will listen to my commands, pet.”

Her dark eyes widened as she sucked in a surprised breath.

“That was—you cannot—” She lowered her voice and hissed, “This is not about pleasure , Vartok.”

“Aye, ‘tis.” I couldn’t help my smirk as I pulled her against me, my arm around her waist. “Come along. I’m taking ye to the hot springs.”

Not for pleasure, but because she genuinely looked as if she needed to relax.

Myra glanced over her shoulder, chewing on her bottom lip in worry. “If Nan is with her, I suppose?—”

“Good lass,” I murmured, marching us toward the door. “Mkaalad, dinnae sleep until Nan is here.”

I’m not sure if my cousin heard me before we were outside. ‘Twas only then that I realized Myra’s steps were dragging. I realized she might be uncomfortable—and not telling me yet—so I turned to peer down at her in the dawn light.

“What is it, love?”

“That was horrible .” She dragged in a shaking breath. “I have never had to attend to someone I loved so much.” Another breath, half a sob. “’Twas so difficult, trying to remain calm, hiding my worry from her. I…”

Clucking my tongue, I pulled her into my arms. “Och, lass, I am sorry. We expect so much of ye, but ye were so strong, so steady. Ye got them both—Avaleen and her lassie—through it. I’m proud of ye.”

And that’s when she burst into tears.