The Jaguar’s Arranged Mate

Careful not to jerk Miera, he shifted slightly to see who had entered the room. Her nurse. Even though he had spent a great deal of time talking to her and the doctors, Beric had yet to learn any of their names.

“The baby?” he asked, his hopes not high.

“Alive,” the nurse said in such a tone that he knew the baby being alive at the moment meant little.

“Will he…”

“It’s impossible to say.” The nurse shook her head sadly. “I see the way she looks at you. I know your marriage was for our packs to come together, but you two…”

He didn’t want to talk about this with her. With Miera, yes, although his attempts so far had been in vain. He was more a man of action. He wasn’t the kind to express his feelings through words.

“Do you know that there have been a few nights when I’ve come in to check on her and she’ll be tossing and turning? Then she’ll whisper your name, and she always settles into a more restful sleep.”

He stared at the nurse. She seemed too honest to be the lying kind. The knowledge that he could help Miera even when he was gone and checking on the baby meant more to him than it should.

But as much as this pleased him to hear, talking to the nurse was a little unnerving for some reason. At least she had stopped talking although she kept glancing at him.

“What is it?” he finally asked.

“You have been such a great husband to her, hardly leaving her side, and you’ve been a wonderful father, too.”

“But?” There was obviously something more that she had to say, but she had to be prompted, to his annoyance.

“You aren’t being an alpha. And your people need you. We need you.”

“The Blood Roses too, huh? What about your alpha?” For the past few days, he had taken Miera’s advice and delegated so many of his duties he honestly hadn’t felt like the alpha. “Why can’t he help to bring the two packs together?”

“He’s been… preoccupied lately.”

“Because of Miera giving birth?”

“Even before that.”

The wedding, or maybe the pregnancy. Either way, if their alpha wasn’t going to help any, it was all going to fall on him. And so far, he hadn’t done a wonderful job. The two sides weren’t any closer to working together.

She walked around the other side of the bed to be nearer to Miera.

“You said she needs to sleep,” he whispered crossly.

“I won’t wake her.” And she did a quick examination that, true to her word, did not cause Miera to stir.

“How is she?” he asked anxiously.

The nurse’s smile only lasted a moment. “You care so much for her.”

He swallowed hard and said nothing.

“She is…” Once again, the nurse fell silent.

He hated having to prompt her. “She should be fine by now, shouldn’t she?”

“Yes,” the nurse said slowly.

“What is it?” he asked, desperation coloring his tone. “Why isn’t she healing?”

“I have a theory, but I’m not a doctor, and I could be wrong. I probably am wrong—”

“What is it?” It annoyed him that the nurse wasn’t volunteering the information.

“Well, emotions play such a huge role in our lives. She has had so much going on lately with the Brutal Claws, her pregnancy, your marriage… It might all be too much for her.”

That made a great deal of sense. “If the baby was to turn the corner and start to thrive…”

“I believe she will too.”

But if the baby were to die…

The nurse ducked out of the room, as if she didn’t want him to voice that very question.

Maybe, just maybe, if he were to tell her how he felt, how desperately he hadn’t wanted to lose her, how much he cared for her, that would be enough for her to start healing.

No. If he was being completely honest, he didn’t just care for her. He loved her.

He stared down at her. She was sleeping too peacefully for him to wake her and explain things to her now. When she woke up, he would confess his feelings.

A sudden scream had him easing Miera off of his chest and onto the bed. He hurried around the bed to the window and shoved aside the curtain. Brutal Claws in jaguar forms were attacking anyone on the street.

Rage and anger filled him, and Beric rushed over to the door. He hesitated, turned around, and walked back to the bed. Tenderly, he brushed Miera’s hair back and kissed her forehead. She sighed, seemingly content, still asleep.

Beric ran out of the door and the makeshift hospital and entered into the battle. So great was his anger that he quickly took down two Brutal Claws. He surveyed the battle and spied a Teal Warrior facing a Brutal Claw next to a Blood Rose squaring off against another foe. Beric helped the Teal Warrior bring down his Brutal Claw, and the two of them and the Blood Rose handled the second easily.

He glanced around to see which one to take on next when he heard the clashing of claws right beside him.

The Teal Warrior and the Blood Rose were engaging in battle… with each other.

How could they dare do such a horrible thing right now? But before he could move to stop them, Beric noticed there were other similar battles going on all around them. Too few of their people were actually engaging the real enemy. What the hell was wrong with them?

Beric nipped at the two of them, snapping his jaws and forcing them apart. When he was certain they wouldn’t engage each other again, he did his best to lure Brutal Claws toward the other Teal Warriors and Blood Roses who were fighting among themselves with the hope they would change their focus and kill the real enemy.

For a good two hours, the battle raged. Soon, only five Brutal Claws remained then four. Three, two… Beric himself took down the last Brutal Claw, one of his hind legs on the were-jaguar’s throat.

He shifted into human form and stepped off the dead Brutal Claw to stand on the steps of the nearest house. Far too many of their people had fallen. Far too many had been slayed by allies. Yes, they had survived the battle, but they would not live through another one if they could not find common ground.

And he had no idea how to bring them together.