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Chapter 1
“Enough.” Mikayla tugged at the two Warlords grasping her above the elbows as she struggled down the stone steps. The noise in the great hall quieted when the threesome appeared.
Balal and Kavan continued to assist the Raasa female, fearful her ungainly weight would cause her to fall. When the group reached the bottom, those in the dining room as a whole breathed a collective sigh of relief. Mikayla snatched her arm from one then the other, her feet making short work of the distance between her and Vaan. Both men grimaced behind her back and took their seats at the large wooden dining table beside their fellow Warlords.
Vaan forced himself to remain seated as her rounded belly led the way. Servants scurried out of her way and his Warlords all lowered their heads to their plates. She approached in a side to side motion that spoke to her burgeoning figure.
The dark blue tunic and leggings Mikayla wore strained at the seams, a grave matter of apparent concern for his mate. Often, she protested a lack of clothing to fit her increased size. Vaan had no answers to her constant questions regarding her changed appearance. She carried his young and it was an honor all warriors appreciated.
Today, she wore her dark hair up to relieve the unending heat. Black tendrils already escaped to curve around her cheekbones. Moisture dotted her pale features adding a sheen to her otherwise beautiful face. Slanted green eyes glared at everyone as she made her way further down to the far end where he sat. Since the Raasa clime was hotter than that of his home of Kaban, Vaan sympathized.
When Mikayla reached his side, she huffed out a breath and eased onto the bench seat beside him. Deciding to start on a good note, Vaan leaned over and placed a dry kiss on her forehead. She liked kisses and he admitted to enjoying the results. Mikayla hissed and rolled her eyes toward the vaulted ceiling.
“I’m fine.”
Since he hadn’t asked and didn’t plan to, Vaan merely nodded. During the last few weeks of her pregnancy, his mate had undergone a complete personality change. Everything had progressed nicely until this last month when she’d fallen from the hapfe she insisted on riding.
The fall caused bleeding and Vaan forbid her from riding or leaving the gates of the compound. He’d wanted to insist she take to her bed like a Kabanian woman but Raasa female were different, he’d come to learn. Mikayla had cried, begged and argued until eventually gaining his agreement on that one concession.
Apparently, Raasa males allowed their females to stay active until they gave birth to the youngling. Vaan controlled his grimace. The males let the women lead them by their toqa, unlike Kabanian warriors.
Assa, one of Mikayla’s friends and a house servant, placed a bowl of fruit on the table which his mate immediately shoved to the side. “I’m not hungry.”
Vaan stiffened. She’d refused the evening meal the night before as well. “Mikayla, you must eat to keep the youngling strong.”
Her diamond shaped pupils contracted and glared green fire at him. “I’ll eat if I’m hungry.”
Vaan bit off his curse. He still learned the ways of the Raasa and while his instinct commanded he force the food on her, his experience warned him against such actions. Strong willed didn’t come close to describing his mate when she wanted something. But he gave in for another reason. With this pregnancy, he determined Mikayla knew best. So many things about how Raasa acted during this time differed from what he knew.
A Kabanian woman went a full nine cycles before delivering and often took to her bed after the fifth cycle to rest and nourish the little one. A Raasa carried for six and a half cycles and didn’t believe in rest at all. Or perhaps it was only his mate who did not believe in resting.
Vaan eyed her while he finished his morning meal and drank his cider. Her size gave him concern. Mikayla’s natural frame mirrored the slim, graceful lines of her people. Even in her current condition, her size appeared the same with the exception of her distended belly and full breasts.
A belly which looked uncommonly large to him. On more than one occasion Vaan caught the women of the household watching her with fear and worry. Their reactions led him to believe he was right for his growing concern.
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