The morning Luna woke, she did not move immediately.
She lay still between them and listened.
Theo's breathing was deep and even behind her, one heavy arm draped over her waist like he had fallen asleep mid-claim and refused to let go. Alo was curled at her front, his forehead resting just beneath her collarbone, one hand splayed possessively over the swell of her stomach as if guarding it even in sleep.
The cave was warm. Alo must have fed the banked coals before dawn. The scent of smoke lingered softly in the air, mixed with fur and stone and the faint sweetness of dried herbs hanging near the entrance.
For a moment, she let herself sink into it.
Then her lower abdomen tightened.
Not sharp. Not sudden.
A slow, deep ache that wrapped around her hips and pulled downward.
She inhaled carefully.
Theo stirred immediately.
His hand flexed against her waist. "What."
It was not a question. It was a threat directed at the universe.
Alo's eyes snapped open next, pupils narrowing to slits as he pushed up onto one elbow. "Luna."
She forced a small smile. "Relax. It's just cramps."
Theo was already sitting up.
Alo was already moving closer.
Both of them stared at her stomach like it might suddenly split open in rebellion.
"I am not in labor," Luna said calmly. "If I was in labor, you would know."
Alo frowned. "How."
"I would not be this composed."
Theo narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You are composed when you are angry."
"That is different."
Another wave rolled through her. She pressed her lips together and breathed through it.
Theo saw that.
Alo saw that.
Theo was on his feet before she could stop him. "I am getting the healer."
"I said I am fine."
"And I said I am getting the healer."
Alo leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers briefly. "It will calm him. Let him go."
Theo was already halfway out the cave.
Luna sighed but allowed Alo to help her sit up slowly. The cramping eased once she was upright. It felt more like her body stretching, preparing. A reminder that she was nearing the end.
Not yet.
But close.
Alo slid behind her and supported her back with his chest, careful and reverent in a way that still surprised her sometimes. He had once been all teeth and flame. Now he handled her like spun glass.
"Dragon King arrives tomorrow," he murmured into her hair. "Your body feels the shift."
She huffed softly. "My body is not politically aware."
"It is aware of stress."
She did not argue with that.
By the time Theo returned with the healer, Luna was dressed and sitting near the entrance where the air was cooler.
The healer, crouched in front of Luna and placed warm hands over her abdomen.
"Pressure," Luna admitted. "Low."
The healer nodded. "Your body prepares. The cub shifts downward. It is early signs, not labor."
Theo exhaled slowly.
Alo visibly relaxed.
"But you must rest today," the healer added firmly. "No long walks. No standing too long. No climbing rocks because you are stubborn."
Luna looked away.
Theo crossed his arms. "She was going to climb rocks."
"I was not."
"You were thinking about it."
She glared at him.
The healer smirked faintly. "You are strong, Luna. But strength does not mean foolishness."
"I am not foolish."
Alo kissed her temple. "You are a little foolish."
She elbowed him lightly.
Once the healer left, Theo crouched in front of her, his large hands cupping her knees. "You stay close today."
"I always stay close."
"Closer."
Alo stood and stretched. "She also wants sweets."
Luna blinked. "I did not say that."
"You thought it loudly."
Theo looked immediately concerned again. "What sweets."
"Berries," she admitted. "Sweet ones. And honey."
Alo grinned like he had been handed a quest from the gods. "I will bring the sweetest berries in the forest."
"You do not have to.."
"I do," he said seriously. "My pregnant wife wants sweetness. I will bring sweetness."
He shifted and was gone before she could protest.
Theo remained, watching her carefully.
"You deal with the elders," she told him gently. "If the Dragon King arrives and they start posturing, I do not want them embarrassing us."
Theo's mouth twitched. "They will posture."
"I know."
"They will test him."
"I know."
Theo leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. "Rest."
"I will."
He held her gaze for a long second before standing and leaving.
The cave felt larger without the men in it.
Not emptier exactly. Just stretched. The air seemed to echo more than usual, the low hum of morning voices distant instead of wrapped around her.
Luna stayed seated for a moment, palm resting over the curve of her stomach as another mild cramp passed through her. Tight. Uncomfortable. Not alarming.
Not yet.
She pushed herself carefully to her feet and started toward the central clearing where the women gathered each morning near the sun warmed stones.
She made it halfway.
Alo intercepted her like a very large, very overprotective wall.
He did not slow down. He did not ask.
He simply bent and scooped her into his arms.
"I can walk," Luna said flatly.
"You can be carried," he replied, as if this was the most obvious truth in the world.
Before she could argue further, he lowered her beside two pregnant beastwomen seated near the warm rocks. Then he arranged her there as though positioning something delicate and priceless.
Luna narrowed her eyes at him. "You are becoming unbearable."
"I am not."
"You are," she said at the same time as the two other women.
Alo looked personally betrayed.
He set down a woven basket of sweet berries and a small clay jar of honey beside Luna, then retreated several steps away. Not far enough to stop listening. Just far enough to pretend he was not hovering.
The two women studied her openly.
Both were bears.
One had deep brown fur dusting her arms and broad shoulders that spoke of quiet strength. Her name, Luna soon learned, was Sera. The other was lighter, almost golden, round faced with sharp, intelligent eyes. That one was Gemma.
Gemma glanced from Luna to Alo and back again. "He carries you like you will shatter."
"He will not admit it," Luna said, reaching for a berry, "but he thinks I might."
"I do not," Alo called from a distance.
"You do," all three women answered together.
Alo huffed.
Gemma laughed first, a warm, rolling sound. "They all change when you swell."
Sera nodded. "My mate has started sleeping with one eye open. As if danger might sneak in and steal my belly."
Luna shifted, easing herself more comfortably against the heated stone. "Theo nearly declared war on my uterus last night."
Gemma blinked. Then she burst into laughter so loud it echoed faintly against the cave walls. "Declared war?"
"He threatened it. Quite seriously."
Sera covered her mouth to hide her grin. "Mine nearly fainted during the last birth he witnessed. I told him if he collapsed, I would step over him and continue."
They began sorting berries into small woven trays, hands moving slowly, comfortably. The rhythm of it was grounding.
"Cramps?" Sera asked quietly.
"Yes," Luna admitted. "On and off."
Gemma nodded. "Same. Last night I thought it was time. My mate nearly ran to summon the healer before I told him to sit down."
Luna dipped a berry into honey. "They panic beautifully."
"They do," Gemma agreed. "Loudly."
There was a pause, softer this time.
"Has your milk come in?" Sera asked.
"Some yes but not fully," Luna said. "But it will."
Gemma's expression shifted, something vulnerable flickering there. "My sister struggled with her first cub. The baby would not latch."
"You will manage," Luna said calmly. "And if you do not, I will help."
Both bear women looked at her more closely.
"You would share?" Sera asked, voice low.
"Of course," Luna answered without hesitation.
Gemma studied her for a long moment. Something in her posture changed. Less guarded. More open.
"There has not been a female cub born here in four years," Gemma said quietly.
"I know."
"The elders think it is a sign," Sera added.
"The elders think everything is a sign," Luna replied.
Gemma leaned closer. "If you birth a female…"
Luna rested both hands over her stomach and smiled, slow and deliberate.
"Then perhaps it is time something shifts."
Gemma's lips curved. "You speak boldly for someone bonded to two very dangerous males."
"They are only dangerous to others."
Sera hummed knowingly.
Conversation flowed more easily after that.
They spoke of swollen ankles and restless nights. Of mates who hovered like anxious guards. Of how one elder had fainted at the sight of blood during the last birth and had to be dragged out by his own son.
Gemma leaned in conspiratorially. "Yesterday my mate growled at a tree."
Luna blinked. "What did the tree do?"
"Stood there suspiciously."
Luna pressed a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. "Theo would interrogate it."
"Alo would burn it," Luna said solemnly.
They laughed, real laughter that eased something tight in Luna's chest.
Sera shook her head fondly. "You will be trouble here."
"I already am."
Gemma bumped her shoulder gently. "Good. We need trouble."
Across the clearing, Theo stood rigid with the elders, posture formal, expression carved from stone as he attempted diplomacy through sheer presence. Alo lingered nearby pretending not to watch Luna while absolutely watching Luna.
The tribe was in motion around them. Furs were being beaten clean. Weapons sharpened. Hunters returning early.
The Dragon King was coming.
The air felt charged with it.
Another tightening passed through Luna's abdomen. Brief. Controlled. A reminder.
Soon.
Gemma followed her gaze toward the males.
"They think they are strong," Gemma said dryly.
"They are," Sera replied.
Luna smiled faintly. "So are we."
Gemma looked at her belly. "We carry the future."
Luna rested her hands over the swell of life beneath her palms and felt the steady, reassuring warmth there.
"Yes," she said softly.
"We do."