Page 50 of Meat

It was the meat that had done it. The cooked nith heart. That food had given her baby the final burst of strength it needed to come into the world, and it had given her own body the strength to make that happen.

Alyx just hoped she could get through it.

This was no ordinary pregnancy and no ordinary labor. She was entering uncharted waters.

The contraction released, flooding Alyx’s body with relief that she knew would be short lived. She fell back gasping into Ravnar’s arms, gasping, sweating.

Jale asked her a word she didn’t know.

He saw that she did not understand, thought for a second, then traced his fingers over the thick scars lining his shoulders. He repeated the word. Next, he pointed to Alyx and repeated the word, questioningly this time.

Pain.

He was asking if she was in pain.

Alyx nodded and repeated the word as best she could. Already she was bracing for the next contraction that she knew would be coming soon.

She was scared. Terrified even. She had helped other women through many births, but now she was the one going into labor, and she was basically flying solo. She had her three ukkur, but they didn’t know what to do.

“What need?” Jale asked. His question was quick, like he knew more contractions would come soon to rob Alyx of her voice.

“You,” she said. “All you.”

That was all she could manage to squeeze out before another contraction rocked her, tightening her core like a knot.

But the ukkur seemed to comprehend. Krogg came around behind her, cradling her against his expansive body. Jale and Ravnar took up position on either side, offering their hands and arms for Alyx to hold on to and squeeze.

And squeeze she did.

Her fingers bit into their flesh like she was trying to break the skin, but their ukkur hides were tough.

When the contraction passed, Ravnar offered her a bundle of leather cord to bite down on.

The pressure was intense now. It felt as though her belly would split open. Even her breasts were aching and over-full with milk that leaked now from her tips. Alyx whined in agony through her mouthful of bitten leather cord.

Instinctively, Ravnar and Jale squeezed and massaged her overflowing breasts, releasing some of the pressure there. Milk spilled down her breasts and onto her distended belly where the baby was shifting and squirming.

The contractions were coming in rapid succession now, with almost no breaks in between. She was almost there, but the signal to push had not yet come.

Krogg held her firmly against his body. He was a pillar of strength for her. He purred against her ear, soothing her as best he could. The deep baritone vibrations of his voice rumbled straight from his chest into her spine, loosening her taut muscle fibers ever so slightly.

More milk spilled down her front. Ravnar and Jale dipped their heads and suckled. The relief that suckling provided was beyond description. Alyx moaned faintly to let them know they should keep it up.

More contractions cramped her. She held onto her mates for dear life. The tendons on the backs of her hands stood out stark in the firelight.

Come little one, she said in her mind, speaking to the little thing curled up inside her. It’s time to come out of there. It’s time. It’s time…

Something shifted in her deep core.

There was a sudden sensation of openness as her cervix dilated, forming a straight channel for the child to travel down. This was immediately followed by an overwhelming, instinctual need to push.

So Alyx pushed.

She breathed the way that she had instructed other women to do before, then pushed again, pushed with all the deep muscles of her core.

The weight of the baby dropped inside of her as it moved into the birth canal.

The fire danced. Her ukkur mates held her firmly, Krogg behind, Ravnar and Jale on either side still sucking away the painful pressure in her overflowing breasts.