Page 375 of Bride of Choice

Celuk grinned as he stood. “Rek learns,” he admitted with a soft chuckle. “Not always want learn but Rek learns.”

“I’d pay to see that,” I muttered, chuckling along with him.

As I braved the world outside of this tiny little tent, I felt more useless than back in the caves with Buu. Nobody let me do anything, and they honestly didn’t really need my help.

Tor had breakfast waiting for me near the fire when I popped out of the tent. As I ate, they packed up all of our things in no time, their tear down time worth taking note of. By the time they were done, they ended up waiting on me to finish eating to go.

“I feel like a slug dragging along with a bunch of… I dunno, what’s a fast bug?” I muttered.

We’d been trekking for a few hours now. I’d forgone a lunch break. I didn’t want to waste anymore time. We stopped far too often for me to use the little wilderness girls’ room as it was.

All those aches and pains I was absent of this morning? They were back and screaming at me tenfold.

I had a horrible ache in my back and lower belly that just wouldn’t quit but I refused to be the holdup any more than possible. Holding my belly, I focused on breathing.

It wasn’t until I had a few sharp pains that I asked for a break.

As was customary, someone handed a water skin over to me, I took a long swig, then toddled off to find a place to mark my territory, har-har.

As I went to jerk my pants back up, finished with my business, a few red spots on the inside of my pants had my heart stopping, to start pounding a mile a minute.

Walking back over to Celuk and Tor, Celuk glanced up from whatever Tor was saying that had him smiling, to stare at me curiously. The smile starting to tip his lips dropped at the look on my face.

“I’m- I’m-” I couldn’t spit the fucking words out. “I’ve had weird pains,” I admitted. “I just- I noticed- I’m spotting.”

When they both stared at me blankly, I blurted, trying not to sound as panicked as I felt as I joined them to slump down beside Celuk on the ground, “Blood. I’m spotting, in my fucking pants.” Sitting there trying to breathe, it took me a minute to realize I was basically force-breathing-hyperventilating.

Celuk tucked me into his side. Growling something sharply at Tor, Snow Patrol came over, crawling towards me, and sniffed at me. Glancing to Celuk, he spoke in their language.

“I’m scared,” I whispered, darting a glance between them worriedly. Gesturing between them, I told them, “That’s just making it worse. I have no idea if you’re telling each other I’m being silly or if you’re super worried and don’t want me to know you’re super worried.”

“We carry,” Celuk told me. “Jo no walk no more. Baby and Jo be safe.”

“Can you two handle taking turns carrying me all the way back home?” I wondered aloud.

My question was met with happy purr-rumbles.

“Stupid question,” I muttered. “You two could probably tag team dragging home a hippo for funsies if you wanted.”

“What hip-doe?” Tor asked.

Celuk’s gaze narrowed on me as he rumbled something at Tor that had him scowling down at me along with him.

“What?” My finger waggled between them. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to have my claws back. Ugh. “Don’t be looking at me like that, all sour lemon pucker faced and grumpy.” Folding my arms over my chest with a harrumph, I huffed and puffed and finally mumble-muttered under my breath, “I said what I said.”

“Jo’s Baby like hippo,” Celuk rumbled out finally.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed noisily. “I didn’t say I was a hippo, quit giving me the god damn stink eye, Big Business,” I grumbled at Tor, who was looking wholly unhappy that I’d even dared to hint at any kind of comparison.

“My Jo bootiful,” Tor grumbled down at me.

Opening my mouth to call bullshit, I got one look at the fierceness in his eyes, the truth of his words for him, and whatever protective barrier I was going to try and put up died in my throat. Maybe I hadn’t felt like he thought me the most gorgeous thing as he’d gaped at my scars, but how much of that was the shock of the fact? If big guns over there said I was beautiful to him, who the fuck was I to argue with him about it?

Standing, picking imaginary lint off my pelt cape, I waved my hand at him vaguely. “Bruiser has to carry me first.” Glancing Celuk’s way, I gave him a commiserating look.

Celuk’s lips twitched and his eyes danced.

“It’s the least he can do, you know, considering he helped the least.” My smirk was as put on as my snark filled sass fest. “Gotta pull his weight around here.” A blustery sigh left me.

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