“Sam, you can’t go.” Nafarius stood, hands on hips, watching as his mate threw her clothes into a beat up old backpack.
“Watch me.” Sam held up a pair of worn jeans and sighed, there was no way she’d be wearing those again any time soon. Tossing them aside, she reached for another sundress and added it to the others already in her bag. “I told you, I am not having this baby here.”
“We’ve been over this before; birth is a perfectly natural thing to do. All of our women give birth here. You won’t be alone and I’ll be here to help.” Nafarius cursed himself when he saw the look of horror that thought brought to Sam’s face.
Sam shook her head. “Giving birth in the middle of nowhere might be a perfectly normal thing for a woman born a werewolf to do, but I was once human and this former human has a firm belief in hospitals and all things modern when it comes to medicine. So, unless you can tell me that one of those women out there is a doctor…”
“Sam,” Nafarius ran a hand through his hair. “Look, it’s not just the fact that the pack expects to witness the birth of their next leader. No matter what you used to be, you’re no longer human and you can’t just walk into a hospital and give birth to a werewolf.”
Sam turned to look at her mate through narrowed eyes. “I’m not going to give birth to a litter of pups, am I?”
Nafarius laughed but stopped short when his mate’s glared turned into a snarl. “No, I promise, no pups. I told you, we’re born in human form. It isn’t until we reach puberty that we change for the first time.”
Sam nodded at the reminder. She’d been beyond surprised when Nafarius first told her that he suspected she was pregnant. It wasn’t that she didn’t think it was possible. She’d just never actually thought about it. Lord knows, with all of the coupling they did it was just a matter of time. Still, the possibility and the reality were two very different things.
Once the shock had worn off, Sam had done a quick mental check of her cycle and sure enough – she was late. It had never happened before. A somewhat lacking social life combined with an almost obsessive belief in birth control had ensured there had never been an ‘oops’ moment. Within a few weeks, morning sickness had set in and Sam was able to officially announce that she was pregnant.
Nafarius was thrilled. He’d never really thought about fatherhood before. Oh, he’d always known that at some point he would want children and the pack would want an heir. Still, he was young, especially for a werewolf, and there was no rush. But none of that factored into his happiness at learning that Sam was pregnant. The thought of her carrying their child, of eventually suckling a babe to her breast, filled him with a sense of awe and wonder unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
Sam was terrified. Understandably so, she thought. She had no experience what-so-ever with babies. Until coming to join the pack, she’d never even spent time around small children. She was an only child raised primarily in the foster system. The foster system didn’t house many babies; any child under the age of 6 or 7 tended to be adopted pretty quickly. Add to that the fact that Nafarius thought she was going to give birth here, in the middle of the woods… well, the phrase ‘not a chance in hell’ instantly came to mind.
“Sam,” Nafarius said quietly.
Sam stopped packing and sat down. “Nafarius, you have to understand, I wasn’t born a werewolf. I wasn’t raised a werewolf and have only lived as one for a relatively short time. I don’t have the natural instincts that the other women have when it comes to giving birth and raising children. I just don’t know what to do!”
Nafarius knelt down beside his mate. For the first time, he could hear her fear. “It’s not just werewolves that have instincts when it comes to giving birth and raising children. All animals know how to care for their young. Humans are, at the basic level, animals. Human women have been birthing babies for thousands of years, most of those before the advent of modern medicine or hospitals. Somewhere inside of you is all that knowledge. Combine that with the instincts that come from being a werewolf and the support you’ll have from everyone here and there is nothing to be afraid of.”
Sam listened and felt mildly comforted but it wasn’t enough to stop her from going. “Okay, let’s say, just for the moment, that there is a remote possibility that I would consider giving birth here, I’m still going. I’m well into my second trimester and haven’t seen a doctor. I don’t know about you but I want some reassurance that everything is okay.”
Nafarius had to admit, if only to himself, that she made a good point.
“Then there is all the stuff we need.” Sam looked around at their cramped quarters. The space was littered with their clothes, blankets, cooking utensils and a pile of practice weapons. “Honestly, does this place look ready for a baby?”
Nafarius looked around, “what’s wrong with it?”
Sam didn’t miss the slightly defensive edge to his question. “Nothing, but babies need a fair amount of stuff and I can’t make it all myself.”
“I’ll send someone,” he immediately offered. “Write out a list of what you want and I’ll have some of the men go into town and get it.” Thinking back, Nafarius realized that he’d sent someone into town for one of the expectant mothers last time a baby was due. Part of the problem was that werewolves didn’t produce many offspring. Each mated couple might have one child in a lifetime. When that lifetime spanned centuries it was easy to understand why Nafarius might be forgiven for having forgotten what it was like when a baby was born. Add to that the fact that he’d never really cared before. He was always happy when one of his pack members gave birth and the rarity of such events meant that each one was celebrated. He’d just never paid much attention to the details that went along with it.
Sam sighed, “Nafarius, I’d never given much thought to having a baby but now that it’s here I want to experience everything. I know that there is a lot I won’t be able to do because of who and what we are. But at the very least, I want to walk through the baby stores and check out booties and blankets and whatever else a baby needs. I would like for us to do some of that together,” she added quietly.
Nafarius sighed in defeat. “Alright,” he said. “We’ll go together.”
Three days later and they were ready to go. Nafarius had organized a ten-day trip to the city. Accompanying them would be Maddie and Alex as well as two other pack members. Seth and Jake were both young and this would be their first trip to the city.
Despite their remote location, the pack usually sent a small group into town once a month for supplies. Less often, Nafarius would send some of the older members into the city or take them himself. He hadn’t taken a trip since Sam arrived and he was long over due.
It was early morning as they stood on the edge of the clearing, the whole pack turning out to see them off. Sam stood with Maddie and Alex, her backpack securely in place and anxious to get started. It would take them two days to hike into town. They could have made the trip faster in animal form, but Sam’s pregnancy prevented her from changing. Not only that, but there was no way to carry any personal belongings with them without traveling by foot.