We set out for the tiger tribe with the spring breeze cool against our skin, carrying the scent of blooming flowers and fresh grass. The four day journey stretched before us, and I wondered how it would be, traveling with so many small lives in our care.
The first day, the travel was uneventful to say the least. We walked for hours through the golden wilderness, the sun warm on our faces, the cubs alternating between running ahead with boundless energy and complaining about tired legs. By midmorning I was already feeling the strain, my pregnant body aching with every step, my back protesting the weight of my belly. Ravin noticed my discomfort before I even voiced it, shifting into his massive lion form and lowering himself beside me without a word. I climbed onto his broad back, settling between his shoulder blades with a sigh of relief, my fingers burying themselves in his thick mane.
I was holding the youngest cubs, my three week old cheetah cubs cradled against my chest, their tiny hearts beating in rhythm with mine. Zarek, Kaizen, and Tavren, their spotted fur soft against my skin, their little bodies warm and fragile. My two month old cubs walked alongside their daddies now, Levy trotting beside Leon with her tail held high like a proper little princess, Niku and Sikai weaving between Veylan’s legs, mewing excitedly about the adventure. They were big enough to walk on their own at the pace we set and their fathers had them, watchful eyes never leaving the small figures for more than a moment.
Further ahead, Atlas and Chase led the way with confident strides, already acting like the protectors they would one day become, while Ryder helped keep an eye on Jasper, the youngest of the four older boys, who kept trying to wander off to investigate every interesting rock and bug he spotted.
By the afternoon, we stopped near a stream to rest and bathe, and I realized it was actually really tiring having so many children in the wilderness. Bath time would always be a challenge when it came to my children, a chaos of splashing and screaming that echoed through the clearing. Although my older cubs loved water now, the way they played was alarming.
"Die monster!" Jasper shrieked, hurling a rock the size of his fist directly at Leon’s head. It bounced off his father’s skull with a loud thunk, and Leon stumbled backward with a dramatic groan, clutching his forehead.
"Ow! Jasper, that hurt!" Leon yelped, rubbing the growing lump.
"Sorry daddy! The monster made me do it!" Jasper giggled, pointing at an innocent tree.
Atlas and Chase had discovered a particularly muddy patch and were engaged in what could only be described as guerrilla warfare. They shrieked with laughter as they splashed Leon in the face with handfuls of muck, then turned their weapons on Caelion, smearing mud across his broad chest and into his beard.
"Caelion! Do something!" I yelled, trying to keep Kaizen from eating a bug.
"They are just playing," Caelion rumbled, looking down at the mud dripping from his nose with the patience of a saint.
"Playing? They are trying to bury you alive!" I laughed despite myself.
The boys then turned their attention to their younger siblings, painting the newborns with streaks of brown that made them look like tiny tribal warriors. I caught Ryder trying to hold Jasper’s head under the water because he thought it was funny to see bubbles, and I nearly had a heart attack pulling them apart.
"No drowning your brothers! That is not funny!" I scolded, my heart hammering.
"But mommy, he was blowing bubbles! Like a fish!" Ryder protested, his eyes wide with innocent confusion.
"It is not funny when someone cannot breathe!" I explained, trying not to laugh at his logic.
Meanwhile Chase had found a pile of pebbles and began pelting Aureon with them, giggling maniacally each time one connected. "I am defeating the big cat!"
"Little one, I am on your side," Aureon laughed, shielding his face with his hands.
"Then why are you so big? Suspicious!" Chase declared, launching another volley.
I had my hands full with the three week old cheetah cubs, who were starting their own shenanigans. Kaizen discovered he could climb my leg and proceeded to scale me like a tree, his tiny claws pricking my skin through the fabric of my wraps.
"Mommy is not a mountain!" I laughed, peeling him off and placing him in the shallow water, where he promptly sat down and cried about his wet bottom.
When night fell, we made camp in a sheltered grove, and getting to sleep without the comfort of their beds proved harder than any of us anticipated. Levy especially did not like sleeping on the hard ground, her nose wrinkled in disdain as she pawed at the dirt.
Levy especially did not like sleeping on the hard ground, her nose wrinkled in disdain as she pawed at the dirt. She let out a miserable little mew, looking up at me with big eyes that seemed to say everything her voice could not. She wanted her soft bed, her familiar nest, and this cold earth was unacceptable.
"Sweetie, we do not have beds here," I explained gently, stroking her golden fur.
She responded by marching over to Leon and climbing onto his broad chest like he was her personal mattress. She curled up right over his heart, purring so loudly I could hear it from across the camp, kneading her tiny paws against his skin.
"I am not soft, I am muscular," Leon protested weakly, but he wrapped his arms around her with such tenderness that my chest ached.
Niku and Sikai wanted to continue playing before bed, bouncing around the campsite with energy that seemed bottomless. They tumbled over each other, nipping at tails and ears, their little growls and chirps filling the air with baby chaos. Sikai tried to climb a tree trunk and slid back down, only to be tackled by Niku.
Veylan caught them both as they tried to dart past him, scooping them up and smothering them under his massive arms, pinning them against his sides where they could not move. They squirmed and protested, kicking their little legs and letting out indignant squeaks.
"You can sleep in my dreams," Veylan rumbled, adjusting his grip until they were nestled comfortably against his warmth. "Now sleep, little warriors."
They continued to wriggle for a few moments, nipping at his fingers with their tiny teeth, before exhaustion finally won and they went limp against him, their breathing slowing into the rhythm of sleep.
Their crying was shrill and persistent for a good ten minutes, a symphony of injustice and outrage, before exhaustion finally won and they went limp against him, snoring softly.
My four older boys thought they were big enough to stand watch, puffing out their chests and declaring they would protect the camp from danger.
"We are warriors now! We can guard!" Jasper announced, striking a pose with a stick he claimed was a sword.
"Yeah! We will fight the monsters!" Ryder agreed, trying to look fierce despite the mud still in his fur.
"I will be the lookout! I have the best eyes!" Atlas insisted, climbing onto a rock and nearly falling off.
Ravin had to scold them sternly, trying to maintain his serious face while they saluted him with varying degrees of competence. "You are children. You need sleep to grow strong. Warriors sleep so they can fight tomorrow."
"But we are not tired!" they chorused, though Jasper was already swaying on his feet.
"Bed. Now," Ravin commanded, pointing to the furs.
They were out in under an hour, snoring softly in a pile of golden fur and limbs, their warrior poses abandoned for the sprawl of deep sleep.
And my three week olds were in a milk coma after feeding, bellies full and round as little melons, tiny mouths still making sucking motions even in sleep. Their spotted fur rose and fell with each breath, their tiny paws twitching as they dreamed of running. They were fat and adorable, sprawled across Soryn’s coils like tiny spotted decorations, completely limp and content. Kaizen had milk dribbling from the corner of his mouth, and Zarek was snoring softly, his belly so full it looked like he might pop, and Tavren reminded me of the Pillsbury dough boy.
Finally some peace and quiet settled over the camp, broken only by the crackle of the fire and the sounds of the night creatures singing their evening songs. I leaned against Ravin’s side, feeling the ache in my bones, the weariness in my soul, the weight of motherhood and pregnancy pressing down on me like a heavy blanket. We still had three days left. I wondered how much more tired we would be before we finally reached the tiger tribe, and whether any of us would survive the journey with our sanity intact.
"Tired?" Ravin asked me, his voice soft against my ear, his arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his warmth.
"Yes," I breathed, letting my head fall against his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of him, musk and grass and safety. "I am pretty tired," I admitted, the words barely more than a whisper.
"We are here for you, Krys," he murmured, his thumb tracing circles against my arm. "You do not have to walk. We can have you settling on our backs, let us carry you the rest of the way."
"But it is part of the experience, Ravin," I laughed softly, though the sound was strained with exhaustion. "I cannot just sit on top of you like a fat person the whole time. I need to exercise too, need to feel like I am doing my part. Besides, how will I ever build my stamina if I let you all do the work for me?"
"You are carrying our young," he countered gently, his hand moving to rest against my belly where Soryn’s clutch grew. "That is work enough. You do not have to prove anything to us, Krys. We know you are strong. Let us carry you when you need rest."
I looked up at him, at the firelight dancing in his golden eyes, at the love there that never failed to take my breath away. "I know," I whispered. "I just... I want to do this right. For all of you. For Aureon. I want to be the mate you all deserve, not some burden you have to haul across the wild."
"You could never be a burden," Ravin said firmly, his voice carrying the weight of his title, the certainty of a prince who knew his own mind. "You are the reason we breathe, the reason we fight, the reason we wake each morning. Letting us care for you is not weakness. It is trust. It is love."
I felt tears prick my eyes at his words, these men who saw me so clearly and loved me anyway. "I do trust you," I said. "I love you all so much it scares me sometimes."
"Then let us carry you tomorrow when you are weary," he pressed a kiss to my forehead. "And the next day, and however many days you need. That is what family does, Krys. We carry each other."
I nodded against him, too emotional to speak, letting his strength hold me up as the fire burned low and the stars wheeled overhead. Three more days. We could do this. Together.
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