I'm NOT a Female!

Epilogue

~ 2 months later – i.e., well into the cold season~

August still got a bit of a laugh remembering his and Ekon's initial reactions to his pregnancy.

Soon after Swayer had left, Ekon had reawakened – in a guilty blind panic. He'd tried to confine August to their 'nest' of furs, wrapping him in any particularly thickly padded fur for his 'protection'. Truthfully, August apparently only needed protection from Ekon, as had been proven.

There was no way August would tolerate living as the beastworld's version of a burrito. The subsequent struggle had caused both Dakota and Yule to burst through the hut's door on a rescue mission. Which of course had not helped the situation much... Ekon went into full-blown guard-lion mode over his pregnant mate.

Though, in their defence, August had very likely sounded as if he were being merdured. He may have screamed like a banshee and shed a few crocodile tears. Thankfully, the situation dissolved quickly... No further detail needed.

Thereafter, Swayer had returned in the evening to check in on the to-be parents and answer any questions.

August had had plenty.

The main ones being how long would his pregnancy be and how on – whatever planet he was on – would he give birth?!? He was coming to believe that wherever he was, anything was possible. As such, it wasn't really worth his time questioning why or how he was pregnant.

In that order, Swayer had explained that the duration of his pregnancy would depend on which race the cubs took after. So, to sum it up, he'd either be having lion cubs or a human baby. Which, they would not know until they saw how his pregnancy was progressing. It had not been the best news for his volatile nerves, but he was still grateful for the honesty.

As for the birth, August was told that the cubs would come out through the hole where Ekon had 'stuck' it in. Totally not a terrifying thing to get told, which had been – and still was – totally great.

Ekon on the other hand, had only wondered how August was with cubs without ever having taken the Goubei berry, experiencing a heat, or having mated with Ekon in beast form. Which Swayer's frank reply had been that clearly August's race was much more fertile than most.

Later that same evening, August had once again, made it clear to both Dakota and Yule that he would be taking no other mates. However, both had insisted on staying and helping Ekon care for the pregnant August.

Yule's reason for sticking around had been that he had no preference for typical females, claiming that he'd never be able to "get it up" for one. By living near the pair, Yule was able to escape the constant attempts at matchmaking by his family.

Whereas Dakota was happy to stay in Yule's company. Hence, they'd decided to continue with how things had been initially.

The two still lived in their hut on Ekon's land, helping with hunting. After much convincing from August, Ekon had even allowed them 'guard' duties while he went for runs in lion form.

From there, Ekon had developed a tentative friendship with the other two males. Sometimes he was even open to allowing them to share a meal with him and August while seated around the same firepit. If only because August claimed that he needed to talk to people other than Ekon – Alva was busy with her mates after taking the Goubei berry. She had been over briefly to congratulate August on his unexpected pregnancy before she and her mates had essentially barricaded themselves in their hut. No questions as to what they were up.

As the weather had cooled, the couple had put together some winter garments for August. However, they failed to take into account August's growing midriff. The second attempt was adjustable.