B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

43. Pregnancy

Days passed in a mostly uneventful way. I still had the occasional dream, but it was either of Mitchell treading along unfamiliar landscapes or Muir's travels. Both were exciting in their own ways, but neither taught me anything.

I was able to confirm that I could only sight-share while I was sleeping and the other was awake, and it only happened with my mates.

Of course, I didn't intentionally snoop, but I still lacked any ability to control this. I planned to start trying in earnest though.

The only excitement during the first two weeks of my pregnancy came from Shuu finally achieving his third mark.

He came home bruised and cut up badly, but Shuu wasn't quick to squeal about what happened. I'd never seen him act so evasive and it really bothered me. Almost enough to put a damper on the mood.

I felt like he would cave one of these days and chose to treat his wounds first and pester him later. If Shuu didn't want to talk, I could sic Winston on him. If Winston determined Shuu's evasion to be a pride reason, I wouldn't push anymore. But if the reason was important, Shuu needed to learn how to judge things properly.

What I didn't know back then was that Winston knew exactly how Shuu got those wounds by the scent of the one who left it. I didn't expect them to hide something like that from me, so it did come as a shock... But the secret little ability I had exposed them later on.

The first weeks of pregnancy were easy. I experienced little to no problems. Harvey was constantly monitoring me along with Winston. Shuu did any and all hunting if Harvey's business didn't bring in any prey. And with no changes in my stomach, I couldn't tell I was pregnant.

I kept active but toned down any exercises. I wasn't sure how careful I had to be with the extra passengers I carried. But I knew lounging around wasn't necessary, so I made sure to take walks.

I was fitting in great with the locals, excluding Parker. I think he approached me out of shallow curiosity since I obviously couldn't be his female alone. His attempts became less and less until I quit noticing him as much.

Eudora felt a one-sided rivalry towards me and spent most of her time chasing Parker around. I was glad for her absence. The other females couldn't be called humble, but they were in comparison to Eudora.

Gretchen was actually a good conversationalist and friendly. She just had a strong tendency to kiss up to whoever she thought was in charge. When Eudora was around, it was her. When she wasn't, it was me.

Eve didn't like to go against Eudora directly, but she had no difficulties operating independently, unlike Gretchen who always seemed to be clinging to somebody. Edna loved when Eudora disappeared because she could fake being the boss, even if the rest of us didn't worship her. The newest female to join us, Charlotte, came and went like a cloud, so I didn't really connect with her.

I successfully spread the idea of washing one's hands before eating and hair care. It was a slow process that was only gaining any amount of traction because a couple of the eligible suitors insisted on letting us know how nice I smelled. The other females' interests were sparked by this sense of competition and that was how it began.

Passing cooking techniques along was much easier, proving that beastmens' hearts are connected to their stomachs.

With what I brought to the table, the locals decided I was a boon. Eve even found a male amongst the wolf brigade that followed us here. The other females were looking to expand their families as well.

The first issue I ran into was between six and seven weeks pregnant. A shift in my diet occurred, and I had bouts of morning sickness to contend with. The good news is Harvey was able to check the heartbeats and confirm the number of and probable beast type of my children.