Ch 1 part 3 & Ch 2 part 1

Nuvaro: "Father I did not expect Cedren to be in here with you."

Nuvo Hact: "Do not fret son, she was just wanting to know what she could do to help you more. It does not hurt to get outside opinions now does it?"

His face relaxes some as he heads toward his father and takes a seat on the cushion. I take a seat next to him. He then looks up at Suitor one and let him know what we had discussed. He listened quietly and let out a long sigh. He then turned to me.

Nuvaro: "I just didn't want you to worry over a past mating ritual that failed. But she doesn't seem to be taking it well."

Cedren: "It's understandable. I just wish I could have helped ease you more. You are my mate and love after all."

Nuvaro: (He sighed wearily once more as he pressed his fingers to his temples.) "I should have said something to at least you. But what is done is done. All we can do now is figure out how to calm her down. She been an increasing problem."

Cedren: "I only hope I can be of use to you during this situation."

Nuvaro: "Being by me right now is the best thing you can do. I will let you know when the time comes. We are still trying to figure something out."

Cedren: "Okay. I will be waiting for when you're ready to do whatever it is you decide."

Nuvo Hact: "Do not worry, if she continues to be a problem, we will have no choice to banish her from the village. But that of course is last case scenario. We cannot have her causing these continuous issues. It's too damn disruptive to the way things run."

We both looked at him momentarily with shock, but quickly pulled ourselves together. We acknowledged what he had said and said no more on it. I took hold of Nuvaro' s hand and softly smiled. We left his father's study hand in hand, we headed to our room. That night I tried my best to comfort him. I tried my best to have him focus on me, my affections showing in every move I made. We laid in each other's arms as we cuddled by the fireplace. At this point, I was unsure of what I could do to help other than be his comfort. Though sometimes it felt harder than I thought it would. That night I tried whatever I could to make him feel wanted. A few days later we were in the middle of our usual routine, his father had come up to us letting us know that another big hunt was in order to top off the supplies once again. We checked the stores making sure which ones needed filled the most so we could plan accordingly. We wanted to make sure we had enough warriors and pans to gather the goods needed. After about a week of planning, we presented our strategy to his father and he was pleased and gave the go ahead to move out. We decided we would leave in a day or two.

We just wanted to make sure everything was in order. But before we left, I had to make a stop at the midwife's home. I had something I wanted to check on. I only hoped my feelings were right. Making sure of my feelings, the midwife confirmed what I had been thinking. And so, we set out for our day long journey to the hunting grounds we had mapped out for the trip. Not ever knowing what laid in wait for us, but I had a surprise I was wanting to let my mate know about during this outing. I figured it would be the most opportune time. I needed him to know what I found out from the village midwife. I just hoped my mate would be as excited as I was, though, I did not know what was lying in store for me. It was the last thing I would ever have expected one of our own to do, let alone someone from his own clan. It would be the event that would affect us all.

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Chapter 2:

We finally arrived at the spot we chose to hunt for the day. We dismounted our horses and proceeded to set up our temporary campsite. Not knowing that in the shadows the misguided girl from the village was already scheming her next move. And with her, also hidden, one of the main leaders of a well-known slaver caravan. She had been secretly meeting with them over several weeks. Planning to take the mate of Nuvaro away. Her jealousy truly knew no bounds, it is a treasonous act that could possibly destroy the village. She still did not understand the soul bonding ritual and what it entailed. The joining of the souls could not be separated, never to be bound to another. This was the catch she simply could not understand. Even if one of them were to die, it would probably take a hundred years or more to possibly find another that would match either of them. But that would most likely not ever happen to any properly mated couple unless the goddess Inari wished it to be so. Meanwhile, Nuvaro and Cedren were finishing up their prep work for the hunt. But before they left, Cedren took hold of Nuvaro' s hand and led him into their tent. It was a moment that she wanted to share with him alone. There was no need for a huge scene in front of the troops after all. She turned to him once inside.

Cedren: "Nuvaro, I wanted to let you know something before the hunt. It's something especially important for us both."

Nuvaro: "What could be so important that you couldn't say it outside?"

Cedren: "It's not something that is to be shared with everyone outside us two first.

Nuvaro: "So secretive. Must be important then." (He smiled as his shoulders shook lightly with laughter.)

Cedren: (Smiling brightly, she grabbed his hands with hers as she squeezed lightly.) "I am with child. I wanted you to be the first to know. I had already seen and talked with the town midwife about it. She gave me a preliminary check, but said I'm about a month and a half in."

He swiftly picks me up and begins twirling me around and around before I even realized what is going on. Making me somewhat dizzy, he finally sits my feet back on the ground only to hug me so tight I thought I might quit breathing. Hearing soft growls in my ear, after giving me a wanting look, he speaks with enthusiasm only a loved one could give. I am just so happy that he is happy about it. I do not know why I was worried about telling him. I guess that uneasy feeling that has followed me for so long, like I am always being watched was almost clouding the happiness. I just hoped that the looming feeling of being watched would go away at some point. I feared it might get the better of me at some point, but for now, we needed to focus on the happiness that would fill us both.