Page 56 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

"I'm here czira," I rushed to her side.

"Murtagh?"

"He's fine and healthy." I nodded at the sleeping infant next to her, for whom I had built a nest of furs and kept an eye on lest my love would roll over in her sleep.

A smile so beatific it melted my heart rushed over her beloved features as she regarded our sleeping son.

"Are you hungry?" I offered.

"Starved," she admitted, and I hurried to bring her a plate.

She sat up with a grimace.

"Are you hurting?" I asked, concerned, and arranged a pillow so she could rest the plate on it.

"Just a bit sore, and here and there I can feel an after wave of a contraction, but it's abating," she assured me.

I watched her eat and even brought her a second serving before she declared she couldn't eat any more. Only then did I eat what was left.

Our son stirred on the bed next to her. "Oh, he's waking up. He must be hungry."

She leaned over and took him in her arms, and the sight of them nearly robbed me of my breath. This was what I lived for, breathed and fought for. Right here, on this bed.

She scooped off her nightdress on one side to expose her full, swollen breast and offered her nipple to our son, making me gasp at the miracle of my son taking his first meal.

He was fussy though, and she had to offer her nipple repeatedly before he finally sucked it into his mouth, and I only breathed freely again when I heard the first gulping sound. After that, Murtagh greedily sucked first on one, then the other breast.

I watched Damaris gently cradle him against her chest and rub his back until he let out the loudest burp I had ever heard. Pride swelled inside me. He would make a fine warrior one day and a great warlord, I was sure of it.

Damaris tilted her head. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" I asked, not hearing anything.

"Exactly," she smiled.

Excited and hoping the storm had passed, I walked over to the tent entrance, moved the trunks, and when I wasn't greeted by an angry gust of wind, I untied the bindings and stuck my nose outside.

"It's still freezing cold," I told her, "but the wind has almost stopped."

I stared at the frozen forest surrounding us. Tents were covered in snow and ice, reminding me to once again pound the top of our tent with the hilt of my sheathed sword to loosen more snow before it accumulated too much, burying us underneath.

I was glad to see that others had done the same to their tents and only a handspan or two dented some of the roofs of the shelters around me.

Every bare branch on every tree and bush was covered in ice, making them sparkle beautifully from the barely there rays of the Carmac sun. It was an enthralling but deadly sight to behold.

I went back inside and grabbed some furs. "I need to check on the others and the horses," I told Damaris. "Do you want me to send Lynette and Syseann over?"

She shook her head. "Just make sure they're alright. I would like for it to be just you, Murtagh, and me for a while longer."

I smiled brightly at her, because that was all I wanted too, but I was also concerned for her. "I would rather they checked on you."

"I'm fine," she assured me.

Not knowing much about female anatomy, especially after giving birth, I relented to her wishes but checked on the two kallinies to make sure they were alright.

My call was answered by Guydo who assured me the kallinies were alright, and I was glad to know they had had a male to keep them company and perform tasks that might have been too hard for them, like freeing the tent roof of snow.

The horses were restless after having been cooped up for so long, but they, too, just like the rest of our army, were as well as could be expected.

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