The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry.

“How far along are you?”

There was no point in denying it. Suddenly, that comforting hug had turned into a horrible mistake.

“I have about six weeks left.”

“So it’s not Beric’s.”

“No.” She swallowed again and coughed as her saliva went down the wrong pipe.

“Who is the father? Never mind. I don’t want to know.” He swatted toward her, not hitting her, although she felt as if she had been slapped.

“Father,” she begged, “please—”

“Does Beric know? Is this why you haven’t married him yet?” His eyes turned dark as they narrowed. “He is still going to marry you, isn’t he?”

“Father.” She took a deep breath and tried to settle her nerves. “Please, try to—”

“Try to what?” he exploded.

She winced. He never talked like that, not to her, not to others.

He pivoted on his heel, turning away from her. She could hear him practice his breathing. Yes. Calm down. I can’t possibly talk to you when you’re like this.

“I believe I asked you questions. I also believe I am your alpha. Council or not, as alpha, when I ask a question, it should be answered.”

“Yes, sir.” She wrung her hands then rubbed her slightly swollen belly to try and calm it. Her habit of wearing loose clothing wouldn’t help to hide the pregnancy for much longer.

“Does Beric know?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Is this why you haven’t married him yet?”

“I… I don’t know.” And that was the truth of it. She knew they should have been married long before now, but she hadn’t been ready for that step. Now, with a baby growing inside of her, she was even more unprepared, although the pregnancy also necessitated the wedding all the more. Unwed pregnant mothers were not looked upon favorably in were-jaguar communities.

“Will he still marry you?”

“I… I believe so.”

“Believe so. Is that good enough for you? A belief? Because that won’t help keep Teal Warriors by our side when the Brutal Claws attack. That won’t steady our combined lines. They’ll break formation to save their own and leave our men to be slaughtered, and who could blame them? They wouldn’t be bound to us in any way. Not without your marriage to their heir.” Father whirled around to face her. His expression left him almost unrecognizable, filled with such fury and anger and hostility. “Maybe we need a different heir, one more responsible, one who understands what is at stake and would be willing to do whatever it took to keep her people safe, including keeping her legs shut until her wedding night with Beric Noca.”

She winced and lowered her gaze, unable to meet his gaze any longer.

“Do you feel that you still deserve to be heir after this stunt?”

“It wasn’t a stunt. It wasn’t lashing out. It… I was pregnant before I proposed. I just didn’t know I was.”

“I can’t stand to look at you right now. You disgust me. If you can’t convince Beric to marry you…”

“If I can’t, then what?” Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt to breathe. She had known her father would be upset with her, but this was far worse than she’d anticipated.

“If this wedding is off, maybe it would be better if you left on a scouting expedition and never returned.”

Miera gasped. “You don’t mean that, do you?”

“I do.” Without a backward glance, her father stalked away.

Exile. It would mean she would never be able to return to her people. She would never see her father again, the other council members, Lisa, her other friends. Most likely, the Brutal Claws would descend on her shortly after she left, and that would be that. Which is probably what he wants, for me to be dead.

Miera couldn’t handle this. She was his only daughter. Didn’t he love her at all? Was her father really prepared to lose both of his children?

My life, and that of my child’s, rests in Beric’s hands. The man she was supposed to marry. While she thought he was an honorable man, she had greatly misjudged her father whom she had known all of her life. Did she know Beric well enough to know what he would decide?

No, she did not.

Even after the proposal had been accepted, she hadn’t thought about the future, as to what married life would entail for her. She hadn’t seen the point, considering the marriage might not last long at all. There was no doubt in her mind that the wedding would force the Brutal Claws into action. Right now, she felt as if they were in a state of limbo. Too few were-jaguars had survived the destruction of their packs for her to know if this was their typical method. Maybe they always waited and watched before pouncing. It would explain why they were so dominate.

Being married to Beric… what would that have been like? The kisses they shared… He definitely knew how to kiss, and she had felt his bulge form. A very nicely-sized bulge. There was no doubting that she was attracted to him. He seemed a good and decent man, maybe even good and decent enough to marry her despite her being pregnant by another.

But her being pregnant meant he wouldn’t touch her, she knew that much about him. If they did wed, she wanted Beric to not just be her husband in name only. She wanted all of him.

If he was willing to toss her aside as her father was…

Enough pointless thoughts. Now wasn’t the time to be idle. Now was the time for action.

Not caring that she lacked her father’s permission, Miera armed and readied herself for a scouting expedition.

*

Beric was dreaming. He knew he was, but he didn’t want to wake. Miera was standing before him in the middle of a field. Flowers adorned her hair, and there was a simple beauty to her, a pure innocence, that called to him. When she stopped twirling—she had been dancing to music only she could hear—and she noticed him, she gave him a wide smile that was anything but innocent.