Telling her mate first should have been her priority, but hearing it aloud, the female felt her heart still. It was not in fear, but rather uncertainty for the news she would bring to him. As willing and as accepting as he had been to become her mate, she was not sure if the news of her carrying his pups would make him happy or more stressed. A great deal of his time had already been devoted to patrolling the borders and seeing to his Lham’s care. What if he did not receive her news with enthusiasm… but spite? What if he looked to these unborn lives as another chore that needed his care? Especially when his mate grew too large and unsteady to care for herself…
Would he be upset if he needed to divide this attention? …or would he even do so at all?
The brightness visibly waned from her eyes and her body too as it began to settle with thought. Her ears came forward to attentively receive the healer’s instruction, but was without the visible response to show she heeded. She was glad for this blessing, yet there was a reasonable doubt as to whether or not the pack could care for her and these lives, when the whole was still recovering from nature’s wrath. And what if fighting became necessary… Their numbers were tight but truthfully small. Could the Vale afford to lose one of its strengthened forces?
She shared none of this with Lecter but it was apparent a weight had now settled upon her mind. Doubt and uncertainty for the unknown, all piled atop what she had first perceived was a happy moment. |