A Berserker Birth

by Lee Savino

  Which, perhaps, she did.

  The three of us rose from the rock. Samuel covered me with a robe, while Daegan stepped between me and the newcomers, more out of habit than threat. Berserkers do not like other males around their mates.

  Ragnvald, the taller of Sabine’s two mates, did the same, while Maddox, her second mate, wrapped his tattooed arms around her to keep her from rushing forward to greet me. Sabine scowled up at him, and he murmured, “Little one, do you remember what we told you about speaking to an Alpha with respect?”

  Sabine tossed her blonde hair. “They are afraid, and won’t admit it.”

  “All men fear women’s ways.”

  “As well they should,” Sabine said tartly, but when she turned in his arms to face her tattooed Alpha, her gaze softened with love.

  “We must plan for the worst,” Samuel said. I pushed away from him, and nearly slipped on the slick stone.

  With a growl, he hoisted me up in his arms.

  “Curse me, hate me, send me away,” he spoke as he carried me to our bedchamber. “But do not leave me. I cannot bear it.”

  I knew he didn’t mean leave the mountain.

  Lost, gone forever, my fault. I tried but could not catch more than a rush of feelings and thoughts. His pain pulsed in the bond, larger and more terrifying than I had imagined. I laid my hand on his cheek, but he set me down and left me to Sabine’s ministrations. She bustled about the cavern, setting her things in a corner.

  “Muriel and Fleur are on their way. And I brought the herbs we will need.”

  Sabine, I spoke with my hands. What if he’s right?

  “Of course he isn’t, the great stupid man,” Sabine cooed. Kneeling behind me, she gathered my wet hair and braided it. “He thinks a werewolf birth is hard. All births are hard. Some more than most, but why would the goddess give you the power to bear these men a child, only to die with it? Perhaps you should have faith in yourself.”

  Sabine always had all the answers.

  I was grateful when my twin sisters arrived, even though they rushed to hug me as if I might protect them. They’d come to the mountain to visit before, but were not so easy around so many Berserkers. Especially because the next Gathering would decide their fate, which of the cursed warriors they would marry.

  “Samuel is still pacing the halls, growling,” Muriel reported. She looked a little more healthy, cheeks flushed, while Fleur, the youngest, still bore signs of frailty from her last illness.

  “It would be wise to make peace with him soon,” Sabine mused. “Emotions can make birth more difficult. Fear, anger--they can delay labor for days, even weeks.”

  That’s it. I hoisted myself to my feet. Everybody out. I sent a message to my men, and a second later

  Samuel strode in. and pointed to the door, echoing my order. “Out.”

  As soon as my sisters fled, he lost his certain look. “You are angry. Talk to me, so there is nothing between us.”

  I am not the one hiding things. I flooded his mind with the memory I’d stolen.

  He looked shocked. “You saw that?”

  I flushed. You left the bond open between our minds.

  “I only hide things that you may not be distressed. I will tell you of them if you desire.”

  I took his hand, wondering how I could ask him why he left his first family and whether he would leave our child one day.

  Daegan blew into our chamber. “Sigurd?” He spat. “Is this true?”

  I realized then Daegan saw the memory when I’d revealed it to Samuel, and that he hadn’t known, either.

  “Daegan--”

  “Answer me. You had sons?”

  “Aye. Two.”

  With a curse, Daegan kicked a pile of firewood, sending the pieces flying.

  Samuel’s arms went around me and I pressed against him. My men wouldn’t hurt me but their beast was a volatile thing. Sometimes it was best to let a display of temper ride its course. Lifting a stone we used for seating, Daegan flung that into the wall, and grunted with satisfaction at the shower of dust. He marched to the dais.

  “Is that why you didn’t want to make another child with us?”

  “Aye. But not for the reason you think.”

  Daegan gestured for Samuel to continue.

  “Her name was Torvi. My sons were Sigmund and Sigurd. When I was cursed, I sent word to them that it wasn’t safe for me to come home. In the first few years the beast was more unpredictable than it is now. One warrior lay with his bride, and when he woke the next day she was dead. He’d torn her apart.”

  My hand flew to my throat. Daegan grunted and sat down. I shifted out of Samuel’s arms, but remained between my men, holding both their hands as Samuel continued.

  “I stayed away from my family--to keep them safe, I told myself. I fought in many battles, and brought great honor to myself and my king. For the first few years I sent Torvi most of my war spoils. At last she remarried with my blessing. A jarl of the small province, he took in my sons as his own, until word of my prowess in battle reached him. Afraid I would return to defeat him and set my sons up in his stead, he had both boys killed, and banned me from setting foot on his land. I returned, of course, and slaughtered the jarl, and his every living male relative. Killed them with my bare hands and left their bodies for carrion, on top of the hill of gold I laid over my son’s grave.

  I lived as a madman for a winter until Ragnvald found me, and convinced me to sail with him and his father to this land.” He passed a weary hand over his face. “A lifetime ago. Before I even met Daegan.”

  “You should’ve told us.”

  “I knew you wanted a family, Daegan. Why would I torment you with images of what I had, and lost forever?”

  “Not forever,” Daegan said. His tone told me he hadn’t forgiven Samuel yet, but he would soon.

  “You should’ve told us. You should not have tried to bear the burden alone.”

  “Brenna,” Samuel said to me. “I did not protect them as I should have, but this time, I swear on my life I will never again choose a path that takes me from my family.”

  I reached out to Samuel then, and wrapped my arms around his great shoulders, and kissed the golden crown of his head. The bond still lay open and raw between us, and I opened myself to soak up all the pain that lay there.

  Once he realized what I was doing, Samuel stirred. “Beloved, you should not--”

  Hush. I motioned to him. Daegan is right. You are not alone anymore.

  “Forgive me brother. I did not think you were strong enough,” Samuel said to Daegan.

  One day you will learn there are many different types of strength.

  Gathering my men’s hands, I placed them on the taut bowl of my belly. One heartbeat passed, then two, and my skin bubbled with the movement of the child inside me, the promise of our future.

  Most nights during my pregnancy I’d slept cradled between my two men, Daegan slept with his head at my belly while Samuel curled into my back, but now, with my sisters here, I slept with them piled on the dais, asleep in one bed as we used to do before my stepfather sold me to my warriors.

  My body had been pulsing, lightly, since our conversation that afternoon. The contractions came once every hour, and weren’t strong enough to hurt.

  I woke when my body clenched lightly for a few seconds. I took deep breaths until it passed. Rising to my feet, I started walking. Around and around the dais I went, my hands on my belly. Every few minutes I’d stop and breathe through a contraction. A few times I tried to lay down and sleep, but the sharp cramp in my body drove me back to my feet. Tiptoeing around my sleeping sisters, I settled into pacing through what might be a long night.

  After one contraction left me breathless and shaky, I reached out to my men.

  There’s a beautiful moon, Daegan’s thoughts touched my own. He shared the picture of the pale, glowing orb hung high in the sky. Cold though. You should be sleeping, he added.

  So should you.

  Nay,
I took the final watch until dawn.

  Another wave of tension hit me, I breathed through it. It didn’t hurt, not yet. Speak to me, Daegan. If I were before you now, naked, what would you do to me?

  He spoke at length, while I paced and breathed through the growing pains, suffering as silently as I could.

  How long are your sisters here? I miss you. Daegan said.

  Until the baby comes.

  And that could be a day or a week, right?

  What time is it? I asked, and he shared with me his sight. Dawn glimmered at the edge of the world. Where is Samuel?

  Samuel is with Sabine’s mates. When you go into labor, they will distract him with a strategy and mead until the baby comes.

  I gritted my teeth as the next contraction passed through me, a giant squeezing me in its grip.

  Brenna?

  You best tell them to pour a horn for him now, my love, for I have been in labor now since the rise of the moon.

  Daegan

  I ran down the mountain path so quickly, the beast left claw marks on the stone. Rushing to the chamber, I barely stopped in time to keep from bowling Brenna’s blonde sister over.

  “Where is she? Is she all right?”

  The little blonde crossed her arms over her chest, blocking my path as if she didn’t weigh half as much as me. “She’s inside, where you left her last night. And she’s fine. The contractions have started. If it is true labor they will grow in intensity and speed until the baby comes. I need--”

  I didn’t hear so much as feel a grunt in the bond, pain washed through my beloved’s body. In another second the bond was empty as if the pain had never been.

  “She’s in pain--” I gasped. “I must help her.”

  “No, you must leave here and get me the things I need. Set some water to boil, send the pack on patrol. I’ve already told my mates to keep Samuel occupied. But Brenna has a special task for you. She needs a pelt to swaddle the child in. White, with brown spots. Can you find one?”

  “Aye,” I growled. “I’ll go on the hunt now.”

  I left and did as she bid. After four hours of searching high and low through the woods for such a spotted rabbit, it occurred to me that perhaps Sabine and Brenna didn’t need a new fur as much as they needed me to leave.

  Yseult was waiting for me at the foot of the mountain, sitting on a stone and kicking her feet like a little girl.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “What are you doing here? Did they call for you?”

  The witch shrugged. “Not directly. But they needed help, and I knew.”

  Dread gnawed at me as I led her up the mountain path. As soon as we stepped into the clearing, Samuel rose from where he’d been drinking with Sabine’s mates.

  “No,” he roared, his cheeks ruddy with drink.

  “There is nothing to fear.” Yseult spread her hands calmly. I leapt between her and my charging warrior brother before he could drive her off the mountain. With Maddox and Ragnvald’s help, we forced Samuel back.

  “You will not go to her. She will not die.”

  “She will not die,” Yseult said sharply, and looked to me for an explanation.

  “The werewolf packs we sought advice from had only dire things to say,” I admitted. “Few women and fewer babies live.”

  “Is that what you’ve been telling Brenna? Take me to see her.”

  “Of course,” I answered even as Samuel shouted, “No,” again, and tried to bite my arm.

  “Come on, Alpha,” Maddox grunted. “She is only trying to help.”

  “Let me go, or I will kill you!”

  “Later,” Ragnvald said, hauling Samuel back away from me. “After we toast the birth of your child.”

  “My child…” Samuel went limp in their arms and Sabine’s two mates staggered under his weight.

  “Wait here,” I told Yseult. “We will go and explain things to Brenna.” I dipped a peat-tipped stick into the fire and led the way into the mountain to our chambers. Ragnvald and Maddox supported Samuel between them.

  “Perhaps we shouldn’t have given him so much mead, so quickly,” Ragnvald said.

  I hurried forward until I reached our bedroom.

  “What are you doing? Get that torch out of here,” Sabine snapped. Brenna had her arm around her waist and the two were walking around the dais, while the twins worked on quiet tasks in the corner.

  They’d lit beeswax candles around the dais, so the only light came from them and the braziers. The chamber was dark and warm.

  “Why are you here? Weren’t you going to make yourselves useful, and drink him into a stupor?” Sabine eyed her two men.

  “We did, finally, though we had to pour out half our mead when he wasn’t looking,” Ragnvald said.

  “Ha,” Samuel guffawed, and then belched.

  Maddox winced. “My head is pounding. Sabine, do you have herbs that will help?”

  “Of course. I’ll come nurse your headache, and leave the woman in labor. Your pain is so much greater than hers,” Sabine scoffed, but Brenna released her sister’s arm and waved her away.

  I rushed forward to support my beloved but she was surprisingly sturdy on her feet.

  “Is it happening? Is this labor?” I looked her up and down, but she seemed the same Brenna.

  Sabine thinks so. The pains come often and they are getting stronger. Walking helps bring them on faster.

  “Brenna, I’m sorry,” Samuel said. “The witch is here. I did not tell her to come.”

  “It’s true,” Yseult echoed, stepping into the chamber. How she had gotten past her guard, I didn’t know. “I heard the news and came myself. And I am a woman, not just a witch.”

  “Women are welcome,” Sabine said.

  In my arms, Brenna tensed. Her face contorted and she breathed deeply, gripping my shoulders. Head bowed, she sighed and swayed, rocking from one foot to another.

  “What are you--what is she doing?” I asked the women when it seemed my love could not answer.

  “Her body cramps to move the baby out,” Sabine said, and Yseult nodded. “As the contractions grow more intense, we will go to the bathing chamber. The water will soothe some of the pain.”

  “Is this always the way of it?” Fear made Samuel’s voice sharp.

  “You have lived too long surrounded only by men. All of this is normal, and good, wolf,” Yseult said. “Her body is doing as it should.”

  With a heavy sigh, Brenna relaxed and released her death grip on me. Her face was serene again.

  “Was that cramp bigger?” her sister asked, and Brenna nodded. One of the twins came forward with a horn full of steaming drink, and Brenna cradled it in her hands.

  “Tea?” Yseult asked Sabine.

  “Yes. Tea and rich meat broth,” Sabine answered.

  “I picked more winterberries for her,” I said, raising my pouch. “She likes them.” I did not mention the white rabbit with brown spots.

  “Thank you. You may leave them.” Sabine motioned to one of the twins to accept my offering.

  “We’re not leaving,” Samuel rumbled.

  “There are too many people in this chamber,” Sabine said, and her mates made for the hall.

  “Go, wolf. She is in good hands. The activity and your thoughts will only distract her. She needs quiet and peace,” Yseult voice was liquid silk, pouring over us, and I recognized the push of compulsion just as Samuel did. I opened my mouth to protest, hoping Samuel would not call his beast to defend us against the witch’s magic. The beast would see her as a threat, and that would not end well.

  Our beloved beat me to it.

  Go. Brenna told us.

  “Yseult is right,” Sabine shot the witch a grateful look. “I am grateful my sister has such attentive mates, but now we must focus on women’s work.”

  Before either of us could protest, Yseult led Brenna from our arms, where she was immediately surrounded by her sisters. A harsh sigh alerted them to another contraction, and Brenna leaned into Sabin
e, holding her around the neck and rocking through the pain.

  Samuel turned away, hating to watch when he felt so helpless. Yseult took the opportunity to push us out into the hall, a strange feat since she should not be stronger than us. At that moment, it seemed she was.

  “The pain,” Samuel said. “I could not feel it.”

  “She is shielding you from it.”

  “That’s not right,” I frowned. “She can share it with us through our bond. We can help her.”

  “You must tell her,” Samuel insisted.

  “No. Brenna must feel the pain so her body will work to birth the baby.”

  “It’s not right,” I said.

  “You heard Sabine. This is woman’s work. Now go.”

  Brenna

  Once I was in the water, the pains grew rapidly, but I felt them less. My sisters stayed with me, I was naked they wore their shifts. The contractions hit my body weaving through the air and water, swaying naturally in a dance only it knew.

  When at last the pain took my mind, and I cried out for relief, Sabine and Yseult took one arm each and walked me to dry ground, where I lay down on a rock my twin sisters had prepared by covering it with pelts and blankets.

  I squatted there and something spurted out of me--a clear, jellyish fluid mixed with a little blood.

  What is that? I gestured, even though I knew.

  “Your water broke,” Yseult said. “It will be soon.”

  “All right now, on all fours. Do you have the cloths? Here they are.” My sister’s voices blended together, a comforting murmur.

  Another contraction hit me and I grunted.

  “How does it go?” A voice in the shadows. I did not know if they were speaking in my head or by my side. “Will she die?”

  “This is not death,” Yseult snapped. “This is birth.”

  “It looks like death.” That was Daegan, worried. I tried to push reassurance to them, but another cramp took my body and I grunted instead.

  “I heard her,” Samuel said, sounding shocked. “Not in my mind. She made a sound--a groan. I did not know she could make a sound.”