The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

He lost sight of her, but then her roar sounded. He turned to watch as she came clear across the room to the aid of a Teal Warrior. Why was she in such a rush to save him? She was bypassing others who could use her help, including her own Blood Roses…

Could that Teal Warrior be the one who had impregnated her? No. The first time she had visited their compound had been after their engagement. And Charles was proficient at making blades, so he didn’t often draw patrol duty. He hardly ever left the compound. There had been no way for them to meet.

But, still, jealousy burned in him. Someone else had known her far more intimately than he did.

Yet.

He savagely attacked the nearest Brutal Claws as if he hadn’t been injured at all earlier in the battle. With precision, he cut a bloody path over to the two of them. A huge monster of a were-jaguar was fighting Miera and Charles. His massive claws stretched toward Charles in what would have been a death blow…

Only Miera jumped into its path.

The terrible strike caught her neck and shoulder. She tumbled to the ground. Charles had immediately lunged at the Brutal Claw, and his claw caught the Brutal Claw right beneath his eye. With his other claw, he slashed open his enemy’s throat. A strangled cry eked out, and the Brutal Claw tumbled down, a puddle of blood quickly forming beneath his fallen form.

Beric ignored the battles around him, bypassing those who would try to lure him into fights. Within seconds, he reached Miera’s side. She hadn’t moved since she landed from the attack. What worried him even more was that she hadn’t even tried to break her fall.

He shifted into his human form so he could cradle her to him. At least she had not sustained a blow near her torso at all. The baby was hopefully fine, but what about her?

“Miera… Miera… please… open your eyes…” His voice was almost too loud for him to bear.

She didn’t respond, didn’t stir.

Maybe she didn’t hear him. The din of the battle was so deafening and furious, with bangs and snarls and roars and cries of the wounded and the shrill shouts of the dying. Chairs were being knocked over and thrown, wooden shards flying everywhere. The place was a den of death.

“Miera,” he whispered. She felt so light in his arms, too light.

He glanced around wildly. Although he hadn’t been willing to hide away to find time to heal for himself, for her, he would do anything, especially when he witnessed a Teal Warrior deliberately turn away from a Blood Rose pleading for his aid. Their wedding was supposed to have been only the first step in bringing the two packs together. They were not one yet, and if Miera were to die, the two sides might never join together. Without the Blood Roses, the Brutal Claws would make short work of the Teal Warriors. Even combined, the two might not be enough against the most vicious pack there ever was.

If only Andreas the Bloodthirsty, their alpha, were here. Beric would take him on… and be killed. There was no way he’d be able to take on their alpha, not while wounded and distracted by the carnage and Miera.

There had to be a place where he could try and buy her some time to heal. He glanced around and spotted the pile of bodies he’d passed earlier. There should work. Trying not to think about how he could leave her there if she should die, he carried her over to it. He was bleeding onto her, and some of her blood was smeared onto him, but he didn’t care.

As gently as he could, he laid her down on the floor, attempting to ensure she would not be visible by any of the were-jaguars, whether friend or foe. He tore strips of clothing from the dead were-jaguars—since he was naked, and his wedding suit was probably ripped and tarnished by now from the fighting—and used them to bind her wounds.

She didn’t stir the entire time he moved her.

He placed a hand on her chest. He couldn’t really feel her chest rise and fall, but his hand was moving, so she was still breathing, however faintly.

Beric turned around, crouching, retaking his jaguar shape. He would be better able to protect and defend her in this form, considering he didn’t have a weapon on hand.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for a Brutal Claw to approach. The five minutes it had taken Beric to tend to Miera had given his body a little bit of time to heal—all weres healed much faster than a human would—and his fury helped to fuel his body all the more. He and the Brutal Claw went a lot of rounds, biting and slashing and clawing at each other, but eventually, his body even more bloodstained now, Beric was victorious.

He peeked around the tower of dead bodies. The battle was still ongoing despite massive casualties on both sides. Don’t the Brutal Claws care that theyre dying, too? They had the numbers to be able to sustain the toll, but still. How dare they! How did they get in? Our patrollers, the fence…

Beric’s chest felt as if it was going to explode. All of their careful plans to reinforce and increase the height of the fence had been for nothing. The Brutal Claws had found a way inside their compound anyhow.

We’re doomed. Whether or not we survive this battle doesn’t matter. We will fall. It’s only a matter of time.

He let out a low roar that voiced all of his despair and sorrow, rage and the desire to continue fighting fleeing him.

*

The sound of a mournful roar aroused Miera. She opened her eyes. Why did her head feel so heavy? Why did she feel as if it would be smarter not to move?

For a moment, she glanced around, trying to get a better bearing on her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. Why was she in her jaguar form? Where was she? Breathing hurt, but even so, she inhaled deeply. The stench of blood and dead bodies filled her nose, and she gagged. She turned her head to the side and vomited.