“Down here,” a familiar voice called.
Heaving a sigh, I swung out of bed and pressed myself to the floor. Mylo’s masked furry face greeted me from the entrance to his nest.
“Sorry to worry you,” he said, pacing back and forth. “I just... had to be here.”
There was a frenetic energy about him, like something huge was about to happen. That’s when it hit me.
Was he about to give birth?
“Are you in labor?” I asked.
He fidgeted with his paws. “Um... I don’t know. I think so?”
My brows shot up. Internally, I was both ecstatic and freaked out, but I had to stay calm for my mate.
“Okay. Let me get the others,” I said.
“No,” Mylo cut in, looking a bit guilty. “Sorry... My instincts don’t want people crowding around the nest.”
That made sense. Ferrets were predators, but they were small. From a ferret’s perspective, it wasn’t reassuring to have a room full of giants towering over his den. I wondered if that feeling was amplified because Mylo spent most of his pregnancy shifted. His human brain knew we were all safe, but his animal instincts wanted to give birth in peace and quiet.
“Okay,” I promised. “It can just be us.”
Mylo crouched low to the floor and wrapped his long tail around his body. “Um... Saffron can come. I want him to be here, too.”
Hearing that warmed my heart. “All right, let me get him. I won’t be long.”
I found Saffron on the couch in the living area. He was curled up in bed lazily hugging Saffron Jr while watching a movie. He blinked at my urgency.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Mylo’s in labor.”
He instantly abandoned his movie, springing to his feet. “Does he need anything?”
“He wants you to be there,” I said.
Saffron’s gaze softened in surprise, like he hadn’t expected that. “Then I’m there.”
The two of us slipped back into the bedroom. It was quiet except for the sounds of Mylo snuffling and grunting under the dresser.
Saffron pointed to the blanket-strewn nest and raised a brow, wordlessly asking if that’s where Mylo was. When I nodded, he followed my lead and pressed low to the floor.
“I’m back. And Saffron’s here, too,” I told my mate.
Hearing that, Mylo poked his head out of the den. His black eyes shined in relief. He nodded, then retreated back inside.
“Ferret labor, huh,” Saffron mused. “I wonder what that’s like.”
I shrugged. “Probably like any mammal’s labor. They go into a little hole, give birth, then come out of the hole.”
Saffron snorted. “Dude, it’s a magical moment and you make it sound so bland.”
“I am not making it bland,” I argued. “I’m just saying that’s what they do.”
“Matteo didn’t go into a hole,” Saffron remembered, tilting his head.
“Matteo is a bird.”
