“I've never felt so connected to my inner bear. I thought when I was mated, I could never feel a more primal thing, but I feel it coursing through me now. I feel as though I could tear anyone apart who was a threat to the baby and it's just a tiny thing inside me. It hasn’t even taken a breath yet,” she said with a laugh at how silly she sounded to herself.
“My girl, that's what being a mother is. You'll feel this way always,” she laughed, hugging her daughter. “I believe I hear your sister coming.”
“Where has she been?” she asked, a little surprised to find that Mali wasn't moping around the cabin as she usually was.
“She was off picking berries for me,” her mother said with a laugh, knowing how surprising the news was.
“You mean she's actually helping you voluntarily,” she gasped in mock shock, making her mother laugh even harder.
“She's stepped up quite a bit,” she said with a smile.
“Kalia,” she heard her sister yell as soon as she picked up her scent. In a flash, Mali’s arms were wrapped around her and it felt wonderful to be so close to her. “Oh, I've been so worried about you. I told you I thought your mating would be challenged. I was so afraid we would never see you again. I can’t believe he fought for you. After everything you said, I was so afraid he would let you go. He loves you, doesn’t he? Of course he loves you. How could he not,” her sister said in a rush of words that would've been impossible to make out if not for her bear senses.
“It's alright. It's over now and he and I are safely mated and very much in love,” she assured her sister, who still looked a bit worried. Then, her hand darted out and rested on Kalia’s stomach.
“My God, you're pregnant. You are, aren’t you? I can feel the life growing in you. Oh Kalia, I'm going to be an aunt,” she cried, hugging her tightly again.
“Yes, I'm going to be a mother and you're going to be an aunt. I need you now more than ever. I need you to be there for this baby. I need to know that he or she will always have you, no matter what happens in this life,” she said solemnly.
“Oh Kalia, I promise! I'll be there for this little one for its whole life. Still, nothing is going to happen to you or Luke. If you both made it through all that Bertram did, there's nothing that could harm you. I'm so glad for you. I can only hope I'm half as lucky when my time to mate comes,” she wished.
“Thank you, my darling little sister! I really need to leave now. I feel a bit tired. I think having a baby wears me out,” she said with a laugh.
Her mother and Mali hugged her close and she felt so loved and, more importantly, she felt her baby was loved. That was all that she could ask for.
*
As Kalia walked home, her heart was warmed by the support of her mother and her sister. In the end, she'd decided not to tell the little boys yet that she was having a baby. Until they could see her pregnancy, they would have trouble understanding. Also, selfishly, she was sure they wouldn't take it well and she was too overwhelmed with the love and support from her mother and her sister that she didn't want to face anything but acceptance. Soon enough, it'd be time to tell the little ones, but not just yet.
She made her way back to the tent slowly, savoring the beauty of the day. The greatest benefit of being a werebear in the woods was the ability to take in every aspect of nature with a greater appreciation than any human could imagine. The sounds and scents of the forest surrounded her and the feeling of the sun upon her skin was wonderful. She was quite tired, but the environment was so alive, so energetic, that she couldn't help but bounce along as she walked.
She was so tuned in to her environment that she realized instantly when everything shifted. Suddenly, the birds that had been chirping went silent. The deer she'd been hearing romping about in the brush bolted, stampeding off at top speed. Even the rabbits and squirrels that had been zipping about were suddenly gone. She tensed, knowing such silence in the forest was a sign of danger's arrival.
She heard footsteps at a distance. Though they sounded like humans approaching, their scent told her that they were her own kind. As they approached, she could tell there were four of them and they were all female. She also knew they were not of her tribe. There was nothing familiar about their scents. The speed at which they were approaching told her that they were not coming to pay her a social call. The bear within her roared and she crouched to a defensive position and braced herself for whatever was to come.
Soon enough, they emerged from the trees. All four of them looked around her age. They wore buckskins and warpaint, with fierce expressions on their faces as they approached her. Each had dark hair and black, unblinking eyes. The tallest emerged as the leader and stepped forward, with the others standing behind her looking as though they might strike at any moment.
"So you're the one; the reason my brother is dead," she said as she took a step closer to Kalia.
"I've taken no life," she growled in answer, giving no ground to her enemy.
"No, but you're the reason he died. Bertram might've thought he could use you to exact his vengeance, but he was wrong. He underestimated you, but I'll not. I'll avenge him. First, my sisters and I will take your life, then the rest of our people will tear your tribe apart," she said, pacing as though she was in no hurry at all, as though she'd all the time in the world.
“I don't think you want to do that. I would hate to kill you, but if you come any closer, then I'll bathe in your blood without a moment’s hesitation,” Kalia growled, glaring back at her with a hatred she didn't know that she was capable of.
“Threaten all you like princess, but I know the truth. Your tribe doesn't teach you to fight. You couldn't harm me. You're not taught to defend yourself. You're taught to care for your men while they're the ones who know how to fight. I don't see any male around. I don't hear one for miles. You'll be dead before any of them get here. You see, we were not raised to be helpless. We're raised to be warriors. I'll snap your neck before you even lay a hand on me.
"Don't worry, though. I'll not make you suffer. That'll be reserved for your mate. My father will take his time killing him. He wanted to be the one to kill you, but I had to insist on that right. I loved my brother dearly. I'll not let his death go unavenged,” she said.
Kalia didn't respond. Instead, she let her inner bear take control. The entire time the stranger had been speaking, it had been roaring within her. From the second she'd sensed them coming, her instincts had been fighting to take control. It was then that she knew why. Her inner bear was the most protective part of her and she needed to trust it. She needed to trust herself to protect herself and her baby.
With that, she transformed into her bear form. With a roar, she met her enemy, who had also taken her bear form. Kalia was shocked by her own strength as she grabbed her and sent her soaring through the air. Before she could bounce back, one of her sisters lunged at Kalia. Before she even had the chance to fully take her bear form, Kalia had snapped her neck.
A roar filled her ears as another of them flung herself at her. Kalia dispatched her with a swipe of her claw, amazing herself at the ease with which she was able to take her. It happened so quickly, more a reflex than a conscious action. Their leader then returned to the fight.
She flew at her with all of her fury, but in the end, she was no match for the mother bear within Kalia. She didn't hesitate to sink her teeth in to the neck of her enemy. She felt the blood fill her mouth and instead of being disgusted, she was over taken with adrenaline. When she released her grip, the other woman’s body fell to the ground. The remaining female looked at her with sheer terror before turning and running from the scene.
It wasn't until her footsteps were gone and her scent had faded that Kalia took her human form again. She slumped to the ground. She could feel the blood on her face and bruises forming on her arms from the battle, but all she cared about was her baby. She cradled her stomach protectively and listened intently to the steady beat of the baby’s heart within her.
Once she was satisfied that the life within her was unharmed, she slumped against a tree in relief. The adrenaline was still coursing through her and her heart was racing. It took quite some time for her to return to normal. She looked in shock at the bodies that surrounded her. It had all happened so fast, but the carnage was too intense to take in. She'd never even raised her hand to another and now she was surrounded by the three bodies that she'd killed. Still, she had no regrets. What she'd done, she did to save her unborn child even more than she had to save herself. There was no life she wouldn't have risked to keep the baby within her safe.
She felt as though she'd sat there for an eternity when she heard footsteps approaching. Relief washed over her when she recognized Luke's scent. She knew that he wasn't alone, but that didn't matter to her. The fact that he was close at hand made all the difference in the world. Still, she was too exhausted to stand. She leaned back against the tree and knew he would come to her when he found her scent.
“Kalia,” she heard him calling.
“Luke,” she called back. Soon enough, he was upon her. He gasped at the carnage he found surrounding her. He rushed to her and threw himself on the ground beside her, cradling her in his arms.
“What happened? My god! Are you hurt? Is the baby?” he asked, running his hands over her to check her for injuries. She looked up to see his warriors standing behind him, staring at her in awe. She knew her face was covered with blood and she could feel that she looked a mess, but they were looking at her with a deep respect that shocked her a bit.
“I'm alright and so is the baby. I can feel it. The baby’s alright. That's why I had to do it. I didn't want to kill anyone but I couldn't let them hurt the baby. I had to protect the baby and killing them was the only way. One got away. I'm sorry for that,” she said, holding tight to Luke.
“I don't understand. What happened? Who were they?” he asked, putting his hand to her cheek in an attempt to wipe the blood away.
“I was walking home from my mother’s when they surrounded me. I heard them coming and I prepared as best I could. They came at me and told me that they were here to avenge their brother. They were Bertram’s sisters. They wanted to kill me to avenge him,” she said, remembering the hateful look in the woman’s eyes as she'd spoken.
“Why would they come after you?” he asked, looking as though he wished that he could resurrect her just to kill her again for threatening his mate.
“The one who spoke said that they were going to kill me before their father killed you. She said their people are going to attack the tribe in retribution for Bertram’s death. Now that I've killed them, there's no chance they won't come now. They are coming for us all.”
Luke looked at her without speaking for some time before standing and sweeping her up in his arms. To his men, he said, “Spread out. Check the entire area. Don't stop until you're sure that there are no enemies in these woods. I'm taking her home.”
They didn't hesitate to follow his orders, spreading out and leaving them alone. To her, he smiled and said gently, “I'm taking you home.” He carried her close to his chest, with no sign of returning her to the ground.
“I think I can walk on my own now. I'm sorry to have been so overwhelmed by it all, but I'm fine now. I promise you that you don't need to carry me,” she said, though she relished the feeling of being safe in his arms.
“I'm not carrying you because I think you need to be carried. I'm carrying you because I need to have you in my arms. I'm fairly sure if I don't have you safely in my arms, I'll use my bare hands to kill every member of their tribe for daring to threaten you,” he said with no hint of humor in his voice.
His murderous expression should've scared her, but she found it quite thrilling.
“You did what needed to be done and I'm proud of you,” he said as he kissed her gently.
“You're not horrified, then? I was a little afraid you would be,” she admitted as she snuggled closer to him.
“No, I could never be horrified by you, especially for protecting yourself and our child. Don’t you dare let anything happen to you,” he commanded and it warmed her heart.
Soon enough they arrived at the tent and he didn't hesitate or attempt to put her down until he reached their bed. He laid her down gently and surprised her by gripping the hem of her dress and ripping it in two with his bare hands.
“What are you doing?” she gasped, shocked by the hunger in his eyes.
“I'm checking you for further injuries,” he said wickedly as he ran his hands across her bare abdomen.
“I promise that I'm fine,” she said as his fingers reached a bruise on her hips that she'd not even realized she had.
“They nearly had you. If you'd hesitated, if they'd brought more with them, if they'd not taken for granted that they could overpower you, they might've taken you from me,” he said, looking as though he was replaying all the awful things that could have happened in his mind.
“But they didn't and I'm fine,” she said, placing her hand over his.
He ran his thumb over her lips and kissed her gently, as though he needed to taste her lips in order to assure himself that she was truly there with him, safe in their bed. His hands continued to roam her body, now savoring the feeling of her skin rather than searching for injuries. The hunger in his eyes was thrilling to her. She could tell that the thought of losing her had made his desire for her all the more intense and she relished in it. Knowing that he wanted her as he did stirred the same passion within her and she tangled her fingers in his wild hair, pulling his mouth back down to hers.