The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 223: I had my concerns

"When snake beastmen get out of hibernation, they usually go into a rut so... Be prepared."

My eyes widened at this sudden news.

"What?!"

Noah didn’t wait for me to process the shock. He leaned in closer, his arms hooking around my neck in a loose, warm embrace that forced me to look away from Damar’s silver coils. He was grinning—that sharp, playful wolfish grin that always meant trouble.

"A wild time, Ari," he chuckled, his voice low and teasing against my ear. "Think about it. Months of pent-up energy released all at once? You might actually miss the quiet of the blizzard by the time he’s through with you."

"Noah! This is... this is not the time!" I sputtered, my face heating up so fast I thought I might start steaming. The heavy weight in my chest didn’t vanish, but it certainly felt a lot lighter under the sheer absurdity of his comment.

"It’s exactly the time," Noah countered, his expression softening as he pulled me into his side. He rested his chin on the top of my head, his heartbeat steady and strong. "Winter is just a long night, Little tiger. It feels like forever when you’re staring at the dark, but the sun always comes back." His words were soft, quiet unlike him. "In no time, the ice will crack, this big luggage in the corner will wake up hungry, and you’ll be wishing for a moment of peace again."

Fenric snorted from the fire, though I saw the corner of his mouth twitch. "He’s right. Don’t let the silence right now fool you. The snake might be asleep but we’re not. You still have the two of us to keep you busy. And trust me, we aren’t planning on letting you get lonely."

I looked at the two of them, then back at the coiled, mountain of silver scale. The ache was still there, but Noah was right. I wasn’t alone. I still had a tiger husband and a wolf husband who were clearly determined to tease and protect me through every single day of the frost.

"You two are impossible," I whispered, finally letting out a long, shaky breath. I leaned my head back against Noah’s chest, watching the firelight flicker against the cave walls.

"We try," Noah murmured, squeezing my shoulder. "Now, let’s get some breakfast. I think I smelled those squirrels hoarding some dried berries in the back, and I’m feeling a bit predatory this morning."

I chuckled, a real, small sound of amusement. "Don’t you dare bully our neighbors, Noah."

"I’m not bullying," he said, standing up and offering me a hand. "I’m negotiating. With my teeth."

He jarred and I laughed.

"Same thing. If you want to go tease them, carry along dried beef as compensation."

"Hm, sure thing." He said. "And are you feeling berries this morning?"

"Hmm," I thought and touched my belly. "Sure."

He suddenly kissed my lips. It was a sudden kiss and it ended as fast as it came.

He grinned.

"Sure, berries would definitely taste nice in the morning."

He doesn’t mean he wants to taste berries on my lip, does he?

I watched him as he disappeared into the deeper part of the cave and I sighed.

I lowered my head and touched my belly again.

I had my concerns.

I had no idea Damar would suddenly get into hibernation, so I assumed we’d be able to leave this cave once the snow had let up a bit, maybe after a month and a half, so we could get to the next tribe and find a midwife.

But at this rate, we won’t be able to make it before I give birth.

I clenched my belly. What am I going to do?

Fenric wrapped his arms around me, feeling me tense up.

"Hey, wife, what’s the matter?" He asked and I looked up at him.

I couldn’t tell him my worries, not yet. He would do too much when he found out.

I’ll have to confide in Noah since he knows more about pregnancies.

How many months will I be heavy for?

I forced out a smile and dismissed his worry.

"It’s nothing serious. Just worried that Damar may not be awake to see the cubs born."

"It’ll be fine, wife. You know how Damar is, ever so resilient," he dropped my head on his chest and stroked my hair. "He’ll probably wake up when we least expect it."

"Yeah, I hope so," I mumbled.

From then, the days began to blur into one long, amber-lit haze.

Our days began to fall into a steady routine.

Inside the cave, time was measured not by the sun—which we rarely saw through the thick curtain of the storm—or distant crows, but by the woodpile we were steadily burning up.

My stomach grew bigger during these passing days and I began to feel movements. The cubs moved and though it came as a shock, the feeling thrilled me.

I jumped around announcing it moved, and both of them rushed to feel it. When they placed their hands on my belly, however, there was no movement.

"Hehe, they must be shy," I said, but my face burned in excitement.

They moved.

My babies.

"Uh man, I wanted to feel them move," Noah grumbled, but as he removed his hand, they moved again, and Fenric, who still had his hand on my belly, felt it.

His face lit up and he laughed, ranting,

"I felt it. I felt it, Arinya. I felt the cubs move."

"Really? Let me feel it." Noah said and came back to feel it but they had stopped moving again.

Fenric felt smug.

"The cubs must not like you much." He said, his lips grinning from ear to ear, and Noah clicked his tongue.

"That’s not it," he said, folding his arms. "They move at different times to feel comfortable. They’ll move again."

But Fenric didn’t care about his words. He was super excited and lifted me up into the air.

"The cubs moved!" He yelled and I laughed, my eyes suddenly falling on Damar’s coil.

He was the only one who wouldn’t rush over in excitement to feel the movement.

At times, I would sit by Damar’s side, resting my head on his body and my fingers tracing the edge of his silver scale. The cave was warm, smelling of cedar smoke and salt.

Fenric was near the entrance, hacking at a frozen log to size it for the drying pile, while Noah was busy filling the stone pot with ice outside.

We needed to dry the wood before our current stock was finished and we needed water too. The snow was a good source of water once it melted under the warmth and so on.

I huffed, sighing gently.

"They kicked again today," I whispered, resting my palm against my protruding belly, and then stood up. "It was a stronger kick. Stronger than yesterday. I think the one on the left is going to have Fenric’s temper, but the one on the right... that one is quiet. Like you."

There was silence even after I said those words. Damar’s breathing was so slow I could count the seconds between the slight expansion of his coils.

I felt the cubs move again and got on my feet. I rested my protruding belly over where his heart felt the strongest and waited until they moved again.

Once they did, I chuckled.

"Did you feel that? They definitely feel you. Aren’t they the cutest?" I asked, but there was still no response. I sat down again, resting on his body. "Noah said you can feel things even while you hibernate. I hope you can feel the cubs move and how happy I am right now... As a mother to be,"