The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

Chapter 8

Miera wanted to go out scouting by herself, but she wasn’t that stubborn and bullheaded. To do so would be foolish, so she recruited Lisa and a few other Blood Roses to come with her, even though she would have preferred solitude.

Lisa chatted nonstop as they armed themselves and even as they started their expedition. Eventually, Kevin snorted. “You might want to be a little quieter.”

“Fine,” she huffed. But then she knocked her hip into his. “Although you were singing a different song last night.”

Kevin’s face turned bright red, and he moved to the other side of their group.

“You and Kevin?” Miera asked. “Since when?”

“Since last week. He’s fun and a little wacky, and right now, I need someone who loves life like he does. Most everyone is too serious right now, too afraid for the future.”

“His wanting you to be quiet seems like he’s being serious.”

“He’s just concerned, that’s all. And aren’t you? You should be.” Lisa rubbed her arms as she walked beneath a tree, ducking to avoid a low branch. She glanced sideways at Miera. “So… speaking of guys…”

Miera flushed. Her stomach churned whenever she thought about Beric, and she couldn’t afford to be sick right now. For a little while, after she had learned she was pregnant, she hadn’t been quite as hungry all the time, but now her appetite was returning with a vengeance. She was hungry for both food and for blood. Some said there was no were-jaguar more fearsome than a pregnant one.

“You and Beric. You said he’s hot, but you haven’t talked much about him aside from that. A few of us have been wondering…”

“Wondering about what?”

“If there’s something wrong with him. If that’s why you two haven’t married yet.”

“No. We were waiting for them to finish their defense. Their fence. It needed repairs.” A convenient excuse. “I know we need to get married and we should have before now, but they only just completed the fence.”

“What’s the hold up?”

By now, the two were lagging behind the others, enough for Miera to consider her friend. Her father knew. For all she knew, her father was telling everyone about it. The secret would only keep for so long anyhow.

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, her lips hardly moving.

Lisa’s eyes widened. “Wow, you two just jumped ahead of the whole wedding and… Oh, wait, is it his?”

“No.” Miera shook her head. “That’s part of the hold up. I’m not sure if Beric can forgive me.”

“Who is the father?”

She shook her head again. That was a whole other issue she wanted to avoid. Nothing would come of it. She had no feelings for the other man. He had found her when she had been vulnerable, and what had happened had only been lust.

Another reason why she did not wish for her marriage to be built on the same emotion. Not that there was time for her to fall in love with Beric or for him to forgive her, let alone love her.

We’re forced into this, but we can’t be forced into love.

The thought saddened her.

“Aw, cheer up. Beric will still marry you, I’m sure.”

“Out of duty for his people.”

“Duty, yes, but that’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

Duty. Obligation. What if Beric would one day come to hate her? Or what if he even resented her child?

Well, she would have no one to blame but herself. She could only hope he would marry her and that their combined clans would provide enough of a basis of support that the Brutal Claws would rather not risk their numbers to take them down.

It was a gamble, but it was the only chance they had.

My worrying might be moot if he or I die.

“Stop frowning so much,” Lisa scowled. “You have to practice smiling more.”

“Why?”

“So that Beric will have no choice but to give into you. You’ve always been able to have your way with men whenever you smile at them.”

“That’s not true,” Miera protested.

“Maybe not, but just humor me.” Lisa glanced away but not before Miera saw her always smiling friend frowning herself.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I… You know how I’m impulsive, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well…” Lisa glanced around. “Kevin and I got married yesterday.”

“What?”

“Shhh, not so loud! I was feeling a little depressed about the future, and he was talking about how we should live for today, and one thing led to another and… yeah, were-jaguar and wife.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. Ever since, he hasn’t been quite as spontaneous and free-spirited, which is what I need right now, so I might be regretting it a little.” She knocked her hip into Miera’s. “Kinda like you’re regretting your romp with the guy who knocked you up.”

Miera sighed. “Geez, thanks.”

“Sorry. It’s just… misery loves company.”

The two were-jaguars looped arms and hurried to catch up to the others. There was almost a warmth in their unified lines, that they could support each other and stand beside each other. That they could be together and yet separate, that they were one in their desire to be safe and were willing to risk their lives so that they could worry more about what to eat for dinner that night instead of whether or not they would live to see another sunrise.

These were her people. For them, she would marry Beric. And if he would not marry her, she would find someone else. She would do whatever it took to better their chances of survival.

For an hour, they scouted their perimeter, and all seemed safe. Then Kevin noticed paw prints. “Jaguars, definitely, and recent too.”

“We should follow them.” Miera led the way. At first, the prints obviously only belonged to one jaguar, but as they moved farther away from their home, the more prints they found. She shifted her nose to pick up the scent and quickened her pace.

All at once, pairs of cold yellow eyes peered at them from the surrounding underbrush. Miera, with her nose already her jaguar’s, shifted fully, relishing the feeling of her fingers turning into long claws, of her teeth lengthening, sharpening into points as fangs. She growled a warning to her people.