Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter One Hundred and Twelve

I waited and watched as Curtis shifted into his beastman form and was loaded onto Parker's back with Bai behind him, steadying him. For once, the arrogant cat had nothing to say. The leopard struggled with the additional weight but they slowly made their way out of my village. Bai looked back at me a couple times but my expression remained firm.

I didn't care where they went. I just never wanted to see their faces again. I had been more lenient with them than I ever would have before regaining my memories. This world was my reality and they deserved to be punished, but it was also a piece of fiction from my past life and I feared what would happen if a main character was killed off. But if I saw them again I couldn't guarantee I'd be able to find a shred of mercy my heart. Even if the fabric of the universe ripped apart at the seams. Even after everything I'd done to keep all those who crossed my path alive. I might cross that line and demand their execution. I prayed that Lance's hand had been enough to hammer into Curtis's head not to fuck with me or my family again.

It wasn't until they were out of sight that I acknowledged the pain in my stomach and allowed my trembling legs to relax. Winston, surprised at my sudden collapse caught me and picked me up in his arms. His eyes wide, he searched my pale sweaty face. He didn't ask what was wrong.

"HARVEY!" he yelled. The urgency in his tone had my leopard leaving the still unconscious Tristan where he was and running over to me. He wasn't the only one. Shuu, with Kit still in his arms, Alva, a few villagers and Lance, whose face finally held something other than nonchalance, ran over to me.

Harvey checked my pulse and wiped my brow. "Is it the cubs?" he asked simply. I nodded. "We need to get her home. She may be giving birth early." He told Winston.

Winston immediately moved to comply with my other mates following him. The villagers didn't try to follow. Though concerned, they stayed behind. Only family was allowed to witness the birth of a cub.

"Oliver. Stay here and help the wounded." Harvey called to his apprentice who nodded and refocused on Muir despite his worried expression.

We moved swiftly through the moonlit forest, following the river upstream to where our newly built tavern style home was waiting. They carried me inside to the second-floor master bedroom, laying me on the California King sized pile of furs. We hadn't yet made furniture for our home so all the rooms were bare except this one. We'd been sleeping in a big doggy pile up until now.

Once I was on my back, Harvey pulled down my skort and spread my legs. Whatever he saw down there had created a wrinkle between his brows. It was the only expression he allowed himself to have when treating patients so as not to alarm them when things were going wrong.

He turned to Shuu and Lance. "We are going to need a lot of both hot and cold water. We will also need a lot of soft leathers and cotton. Lance, you know where I keep my herbs? I am going to need all of the dried blue leaf and all of the green paste."

Lance immediately moved to go get the herbs. Shuu stood there lost in anxiety until Kit yipped bringing him back to his senses. He put the cub down and went out to prep the water.

I looked at Harvey with questions burning in my eyes. I was having contractions but I didn't know if I was going into labor. My water hadn't broken and I didn't know if I was dilated at all.

He gave my knee a reassuring kiss. "You're in for a long night. You're going into early labor and it will probably take longer than it had with kit as your water hasn't broken yet. But don't worry. I'm here. I won't leave your side."

"Neither will I." Said Winston's low voice as he started to undress me. With the comment about taking a long time, he knew I would want to be comfortable and when contractions are killing you, no clothing is. 

He placed a soft, lightweight fur over me just as another cramp tore through my belly and I whimpered. Winston held me to his chest and whispered soothing words while Harvey massaged my calves to redirect the brain into focusing on something else.

Lance and Shuu returned with water and herbs. Shuu, seeing my undressed state started to grab Kit and remove him from the room but Lance placed a hand on his shoulder.

"The cub should stay." He said determinedly.

We all lifted one eyebrow at him. Cubs weren't normally present for such things.

Lance took Kit out of Shuu's arms and sat him on the ground. He pointed at my scrunched up face as another cramp ripped through me. "Keep your eyes open cub. You need to see and understand how much females suffer to bring us into the world. This is why you must never be as reckless as you were today. Your mother has gone through so much to give you life and you nearly threw it away."

Lance was turning my pain into a lesson Kit would never forget. The one-year old cub was smarter than most his age but he had still done something incredibly foolish today. Like many youths, he didn't gauge how dangerous the situation was. He hadn't thought Curtis could hurt him. His only thought had been to follow his papas and fight the snake. And Tristan had paid the price for such recklessness. Tristan's injuries might have been a decent lesson on consequences but the cub needed a lesson that would stick with him until he was fully grown and maybe even after.

What better way than to have him witness the trauma that is childbirth, I thought sarcastically to myself. But I let it be. If Lance thought this was what was needed, I wasn't going to argue. Only males truly knew what males needed.

Harvey was right. It was a long labor. It took three full days for the kittens to be born. Kit did not have to stay and watch the whole time. The first night of screaming had been enough for the poor pup. I had passed out multiple times but I got through it with my competent healer and incredibly supportive family. Even if I cursed at Winston, he would just smile apologetically and kiss my hair. When I cried, Lance would press his forehead to mine and wipe my tears. And when I finally got breaks, Shuu was there with something yummy to keep my strength up.

The two potato-sized white kittens seemed so much smaller than I thought they should be. The pain made me think they would be at least the size of pineapples, but they were slightly premature. Thankfully, they were otherwise born healthy. I just managed to nickname them Tora and Baek before neatly passing out for the fifteenth time.