“It could just be an upset tummy.” It roiled still.
“There’s one way to know for sure. We’ll pay a visit to a doctor. Get dressed.”
“Now?” Nadirah squeaked.
“You’d prefer to wait?”
She almost said yes. Surely this was nothing more than a virus or something she ate. “Would they even be able to tell? At most, I’m a few weeks.”
“If this is morning sickness, then you’re far enough along for a test to work. I guess the real question is, are you ready to find out?”
Did she want to know? What if it came back positive? What would she do about it? While she’d planned to eventually have a family, she’d expected to be married—and that the father wouldn’t be a tiger hunted by his own government.
An excited yowl led her gaze to a tumbling pair of cubs—with sharp claws and teeth.
Almost reflexively, Nadirah put a hand on her belly. “Let’s say I was with child, and it is harimau… Will it harm me?”
“No. The cubs do not shift in the womb.”
Once the fear locked on, Nadirah couldn’t shake it. “That might be true for normal harimau, but Phoenix was made, not born. How do we know the same rules apply?”
The query led to Farah’s lips pinching. “All the more reason then to visit my doctor friend.”
Still, Nadirah hesitated. “Maybe I should wait for Phoenix.”
“He’ll be gone for hours,” Farah huffed in exasperation. “And it’s not as if we’ll learn much, other than if you’re pregnant or not. The fetus will be too small for a few more weeks, at least, before we can even see it on an ultrasound. That would be thevisit to have him present for. Assuming I’m correct. Perhaps I’m wrong.” Farah didn’t seem to think she’d misjudged, though, and did Nadirah really want to wait? Now that the seed had been planted, it suddenly seemed important to know for sure.
“Okay, let’s go see your doctor friend.”
Their trip out of the jungle—this time without a blindfold—confirmed Nadirah’s suspicions.
As they got into a parked car, which Farah had keys for, Nadirah stated, “The village is in the Royal Tiger Reserve.”
“Where else would we be so well protected?” Farah replied with a smile.
“Seems kind of risky. The reserve has guards and staff to maintain it.”
“People who are loyal to us.”
“Wait, you’re saying the Royal Reserve staff are harimau?”
“Not all, but many do work for the reserve.”
“Which makes it easy to keep it secret and safe,” Nadirah murmured softly.
“For now. We’ve had many hidden locations over the years. This one will be my fourth sanctuary. Eventually, no matter how careful, our secret slips out and we have to relocate the hideaway.”
That explained why the little village seemed to have only the bare essentials. Easy to abandon.
The drive didn’t take long, and soon they were parking in front of a building with a sign indicating medical services.
While the harimau didn’t usually have a use for doctors, as grievous injuries healed when they shifted, pregnancy could cause issues, something Farah mentioned on the way. Preeclampsia, breech positioning, cord wrapping around the neck, narrow birth canal, and more remained serious concerns.
The OB/GYN, while not a shifter herself, knew of them. Apparently, she’d married a harimau male and had a child whoturned into a cub before even a month old while breastfeeding. That would have been quite the shock.
It took a simple blood test for the doctor to confirm a baby grew in Nadirah’s belly. With a follow-up appointment and some recommendations for vitamins, Nadirah walked out of the doctor’s office bemused and worried.
How would Phoenix react? How did she feel? Would the baby even be viable? How had the procedure performed on Phoenix affected his sperm? Did she have a cub in her belly? Could she handle being a tiger’s mommy? They were awfully cute.
