The Tiger's Forbidden Mate: A Paranormal Pregnancy Romance

by Angela Foxxe

  Winston felt a white hot flare of grief at the thought of Shawna and his baby being dead, and for a fleeting instance, the temptation to join them in the maw of the great beast below was almost too much to resist.

  Suddenly he felt another bump against him and the small, gray form of a dolphin helped him stay afloat.

  “Hey, Jason, I found another drowning cat!” it chirped.

  “This one isn’t doing too good, Archie; we gotta get her to a medic,” the old, scarred dolphin replied.

  Winston couldn’t believe his luck; the dolphin anima were helping them. He remembered his grandmother’s warning, not to tell them who he was related to.

  “Thanks,” he managed to gasp. “Is she…?”

  “Nope, not dead, but she’s gonna pop soon so she’s gotta get to shore, or big Snags down there will have some baby back ribs,” Jason replied.

  Winston wasn’t too impressed with the casualness that Jason was treating the urgency of Shawna’s labor.

  “I’m serious, we owe you,” Winston said hiding his irritation. This was not the time to be picking fights.

  “Eh, let’s get you to shore. You kittens can’t swim worth shit. Snags would make quick work of you if we didn’t calm him down. He’s bent out of shape right now,” Archie replied.

  Winston just shook his head as he clung to the dolphin’s dorsal fin while he cut through the water to the other side of the island where the dock was.

  Shawna was barely hanging on as Jason slowly swam to the dock. He kept nudging her with his bottlenose to keep her afloat on her back.

  “I think she took in some water,” he said as he shifted into his human form to help drag her onto the dock.

  He was pale white, covered in scars and he was bald, everywhere.

  Archie shifted shape and he was also hairless as he helped Winston get out of the ice cold water. Winston stood there shivering in the warm air as he tried to reclaim the body heat that was lost to the cold North Pacific water.

  Jason picked Shawna up from the broken wooden dock and walked to the gate of the settlement. “Hey! We have a couple of waterlogged cats here! Let us in; one’s in a pretty bad way!” he shouted.

  A dark head poked out from behind the guard turret to see who was talking.

  “Jason why the hell don’t you guys put on any clothes?” the guard shouted.

  “Figured out how to make waterproof ones? Because it’s kinda hard to keep clothes dry when we live in the fucking ocean. Now open the gate, this kitty is about to birth and she’s half drowned.”

  “All right, all right, I’ll open the damn gate. I’d say keep your pants on but you obviously don’t have any,” the guard shouted.

  “This really pisses him off,” Jason said to Winston with a grin.

  “The nakedness?” Winston asked.

  “Yeah, that guy in particular has a real hate on for the natural body.”

  “Maybe it’s not a hate on,” Archie said with a sly grin. “Maybe your fine aquatic body gives him uncomfortable feelings in his trousers.”

  “Who knows?” Jason laughed as the gate slowly swung open. “Anyway, let’s get her to ol’ Jasper and get her all fixed up,” he said as he carried the semi-conscious Shawna through the tall iron gate.

  Winston followed Jason and Archie through the gate. Inside there was a building that was partially destroyed up on the hill, down by the dock there was another; that’s where Jason was carrying Shawna. She coughed and sputtered in his arms and he walked quicker.

  Jason kicked the door open and put Shawna on one of the empty beds.

  “All right, where’s Jasper?” he barked.

  “I’m here,” an old dark-skinned woman with pure-white hair replied as she slowly walked out of another room. “What is it?” Her amber eyes flashed with irritation.

  “This girl nearly drowned and she’s in labor. Can you help her?” Jason asked.

  “Is she yours?”

  He shook his head and pointed to Winston.

  “She’s with him. We just dragged their soggy cat asses out of the bay before Snags made a snack out of them.”

  The old woman looked at Winston and then to Shawna.

  “Really?” she said as she examined the unconscious woman.

  “Why are you here?” she asked Winston.

  “We got exiled from the southern tiger tribe. They wanted me to mate to my cousin. I refused, I wanted to mate Shawna here. So we both got thrown out.”

  “Makes sense,” she said as she listened to Shawna’s breathing. “She has water in her lungs, but her labor hasn’t really kicked in yet. We can try to empty them out so she can have the baby safely.”

  “Can you… see if the baby’s still human or not?” Winston asked. “She needed to change shapes quite often during our journey.”

  “I’ll try, but first we need to get this water out of her lungs,” Jasper said as she looked for something. “There we go,” she said as she picked up a match and a piece of paper.

  She struck the match and lit the paper on fire and held it under Shawna’s nose. She was breathing shallowly but managed to inhale enough smoke to start her coughing. Jasper then tilted Shawna’s head to the side, and forcefully pushed down on Shawna’s chest to help her cough out the water.

  “She’s going to have a hard time because the baby is taking up all the room. You help prop her up so she can cough better,” she said to Winston after she pushed on Shawna’s sternum for a bit.

  Shawna coughed and coughed and vomited up the sea water she inhaled into her lungs during their perilous journey across the straight. She then took a deep shuddering breath and opened her eyes.

  “Where… am I?” she asked wearily.

  “We made it,” Winston said. “We’re in Traz now.”

  Shawna smiled weakly. “Good. I’m having such a hard time breathing.” She coughed weakly. “I, just remember swimming next to you, a huge wave pushing me down, seeing this huge cave coming at me, then nothing.”

  “Yeah that was Snags,” Jason replied. “He wanted to say hello, but I got to you first.”

  “Why are you naked?” Shawna asked.

  Jason rolled his eyes and sighed. “As I said…”

  “Jason…” Jasper chided with a stern look. “She was out like a light, she doesn’t know.”

  “Sorry, anyway we’re dolphins… him ‘n me,” he said pointing to Archie. “We were doing our usual patrol around here because treaty and all that and, well, you went sploosh, I went bloop, Snags was all SNACK TIME and I was like nope, and now we’re here.”

  “I see; thanks so much,” Shawna said weakly. “Seems my labor has stopped anyway.”

  Jasper palpated Shawna’s stomach. “Yeah, anima babies are smart that way. It sensed you were in trouble and realized it might not be the best time to come out,” she explained as she poked and prodded to gauge the baby’s position and shape.

  She then put her ear against Shawna’s abdomen and listened very carefully and the entire room hushed. Jason paced by the window and saw the guard who was always disturbed by his nudity and started to swing his cock at him.

  The guard rolled his eyes, turned on his heel, and abruptly started walking the other way and Jason laughed. Jasper shot him a dirty look and he looked sheepish.

  “Sorry,” he mouthed as Jasper went back to listening for the baby’s heartbeat.

  “Well, we’re in luck,” she said as she raised her head. “The baby is not stuck as a tiger,” Jasper said as she went to wash her hands.

  Winston and Shawna breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less possible complication out of the way.

  “It’s also head down, which is even better. I hate breech births,” Jasper replied as she started dumping medical instruments into a pot of boiling water to sanitize them as best as she could for when Shawna’s labor resumed.

  “So why did it stop?” Shawna asked.

  “Cats can pause labor when they feel threatened. It’s a pure survival thing. Back when people h
ad pet cats, when a female was disturbed by a dog or whatever during parturition, that’s another word for labor by the way, she stopped what she was doing, put a pause to the contractions, and moved shop to a safer place. We tiger anima can do the same thing,” Jasper explained.

  “Makes sense,” Winston said as Shawna rolled over onto her side to be more comfortable.

  “Jason, go show Winston here around the compound, get him something to eat, and bring something back for Shawna here,” Jasper commanded. “And put some god damned pants on.”

  Jason sighed. “Yes, Doctor.”

  “The humes are rather sensitive to having their kids seeing nudity,” Jasper explained. “We walk a very fine line of truce here so we try to keep to their social conventions. Dolphins however need a little more urging.”

  “As I said there’s no stay dry clothes so we don’t see the point!” Jason said as he pulled on a pair of leather pants.

  Archie grabbed a pair as well and pulled them on. “But when in Rome…” he said as he zipped them up. “C’mon Winston, let’s get some grub.”

  Winston didn’t want to leave Shawna, but his stomach was growling pretty loudly.

  “It’s all right,” she whispered. “At least I’m with a doctor,” she said as she started coughing again.

  Winston was shocked at how ashen Shawna’s dark skin had been. She was not getting enough oxygen that’s for sure, but Jasper seemed to know what she was doing, so Shawna was in good hands. He walked down the dimly-lit corridor to a large area that looked like a chow hall.

  The tables and chairs were the original ones from when the place was a prison, maintained and in good shape.

  “Wow, it’s like the bombs never fell here,” Winston gasped.

  “Oh, this place was a wreck before it got fixed up. The people who made the first swim over thought it would be a great place to shack up. Been a settlement for nearly fifty years,” Archie explained. “The humes and the anima here get along pretty good at least, except one falling out a while ago.”

  Jason picked up the narrative. “Yeah it was like one tiger was all ‘I am Supreme Leader!’ and everyone else went ‘Fuck off!’ and he’s like ‘NO, YOU.’ And they threw him and his wife out. The other tigers that came with them were like ‘Bro, I told you so, but sucks to be you, we’re staying here since you didn’t learn the first time.’” He scratched at his butt. “These pants are so damn itchy! Anyway, Archie and I pulled their raft to the main and left them to fend for themselves.”

  Winston nodded silently. He didn’t want to tell them he was related to the two problematic tigers. If anything, he didn’t want to carry on their megalomaniac legacy so it was best to hide his identity. It might come out eventually. Maybe after Shawna and him establish their own place here and have contributed for a while.

  Jason thrust a tin plate into Winston’s hands. “Get in line,” he urged as he stood behind a very short person. “Hey Francis, what’s shaking?”

  “Nothing much,” said the dwarf. “Glad you’re finally wearing pants; was getting annoying staring at your junk all day.”

  “Jasper made me put them on,” Jason sulked.

  Francis laughed as the man behind the counter scooped a pile of food onto his plate. “She’s always one for propriety. Who’s the new guy?”

  “Oh, this is Winston. Archie and I dragged him and his woman out of the water. Snags was gonna use them as toothpicks,” Jason explained.

  “Oh, where’s the girl?” Francis asked.

  “We left her with Jasper,” Winston explained. “She nearly drowned and she’s about to give birth.”

  “You made the crossing with a pregnant woman? Are you daft?” Francis asked as they sat down.

  “Had no other choice. We got thrown out of our tribe because they wanted me to marry my cousin,” Winston explained as he shovelled the slop into his mouth. “What is this?” he asked.

  “Fish and potato hash,” Francis said. “Fourth day in a row.”

  “Makes sense,” Winston replied as he ate.

  Archie stood up. “I gotta see if they have any broth for your woman. They’re more than likely to give it to me than you, new guy.”

  Winston didn’t say a word but kept eating the horrible concoction that was placed on his tray. He was worried for Shawna. If she didn’t clear her lungs on her own she could die, leaving the baby motherless, therefore his child would die, too, unless a wet nurse could be found. He didn’t want to lose Shawna, though.

  He silently kicked himself while eating and was startled out of his self loathing by a polite tap on his shoulder. Archie and Jason silently left as they noticed the tiger anima’s face turn grim, knowing the man didn’t want to talk anymore.

  “What is it?” Winston asked.

  “Your mate, well, Jasper told me to come get you,” the small boy replied.

  Winston got up and strode back to the medical bay with long, purposeful strides. Shawna could be dead; she could be in labor, she…. his mind was going a mile a minute with what-ifs.

  He turned into the medical bay and saw Shawna writhing on the bed.

  “Her body decided to start her labor again,” Jasper said as she put a sheet over Shawna’s bare legs. “She’s got a little way to go, but she’s in a lot of pain right now.”

  Winston nodded and sat in the chair next to Shawna’s bed. “Breathe,” he urged.

  “I can’t…” she gasped through her gritted teeth. “I mean it hurts and I can’t take a deep breath to save my life without coughing.”

  Winston looked at Jasper helplessly.

  “Well, that’s what happens when you nearly drown. Your lungs are clearing out the water so you don’t get pneumonia. Shame that your body decided to go into labor at the same time,” she said.

  Shawna let out a cry as another contraction wracked her body.

  “Stop fighting it, girl,” Jasper chided. “It’s just gonna make it worse,” she said as she did another internal check.

  Winston just sat there helplessly as Shawna labored and coughed on the bed. She rolled over onto her side and spat another gob of water onto the dirty tile floor as another ended.

  “This is the worst day of my life,” she moaned.

  “Soon to be the best day I hope?” Jason said as he poked his head in the door. “Brought some broth for her,” he said. “Archie was dragged away by Francis so I was left to be the errand boy.”

  “Put it on the table there, thanks,” Jasper said as she washed her hands again. “How about you go for a little walk, Shawna?” Jasper urged. “Not too far. Jason show them around the area a little.”

  “Sure!” the young, bald man replied as he moved aside for the heavily pregnant woman and her mate. “All right, as you know, that’s the medical area. This way, is the place where the supplies are stored, food and all that. Sometimes the tigers go over to the desert to scavenge things, we bring them back on the raft, it’s a pretty dangerous thing. This here is the door to the main sleeping block, that’s where everyone lives up on the hill there, this is just the hospital and chow hall. Meals are three times a day here. If you have your own food, you can eat that whenever, but communal meals are here,” he explained as they stopped for Shawna to breathe through another contraction.

  She felt an iron fist gripping her abdomen as another contraction tore through her. When will this end? she asked herself. She tried to take a deep breath but was met with a wracking cough to force out more of the salty water. She spat the thick mucous water onto the floor as she coughed through a contraction, making it hurt worse than it should.

  “I think walking is making it progress faster,” she gasped as she waddled the hallway. “I feel pressure down there and it’s not good.” She groaned as she felt an overwhelming urge to bear down.

  “Let’s get her back to Jasper,” Winston said as he rushed Shawna back down the hall.

  There was no rushing her. “I can’t walk fast… I feel something.”

  Winston didn’t hesitate, he s
cooped Shawna up and felt wetness on his forearm where her he cradled her. He strode to the med bay and placed Shawna gently on the bed.

  “She says she feels pressure,” he said.

  “I can talk for my…” Shawna gasped as another contraction forced its way through her body and she felt an undeniable urge to push.

  Jasper washed her hands and checked Shawna’s progress and felt the warm, fuzzy head of the baby.

  “She’s crowning; the baby is about to come out. All right dear, push when you need to, if you feel burning, breathe through it,” Jasper instructed.

  Shawna nodded and felt the urge to get on all fours so she did. “I’m more comfortable this way.”

  “That’s all right, I’m flexible,” Jasper replied as she positioned herself at the edge of the bed to catch the infant.

  Shawna grunted as she gently pushed her child into the world. She felt a little burning but it wasn’t as bad as when she was on her back. She felt the head emerge and stopped for a quick break. She panted for a bit and waited for the next urge to hit her.

  “Hold on a minute, the baby’s shoulders are stuck,” Jasper said calmly as Shawna felt her reach in and hooked the baby under each arm to ease the shoulders over her pelvis. “There you go.”

  As the baby was freed, Shawna felt another urge to bear down take over. She gave one more push and the baby slithered out of her into Jasper’s waiting hands.

  “It’s a girl!” she said as she started rubbing the wet infant down with a cotton towel. The baby started to cry as the cold air hit her skin for the first time. “There we go, get all that fluid out,” Jasper urged as she put the baby chest down on her forearm and thumped her back.

  Shawna waited for Jasper to cut the cord before laying back down on her back to deliver the afterbirth. The older woman walked up to the head of the bed and handed Shawna her swaddled daughter.

  “Have you thought of a name?” Jasper asked as Shawna attempted to nurse the baby.

  “No, I haven’t really had time. It was just one thing after another just to get here,” Shawna replied as she managed to get the baby to latch on.