Episode Sixty-Two Big News

D har

I've fought many battles. Orcs are a warring bunch. I've never before felt so worried before a fight. This time I have a reason to come home in one piece. My 'Dira.

She's so damned uncooperative. If I were a different male, I would order her around, forbid her to do things. I shake my head. Shit, that would make me like the males from Up Above. That's the last thing I want.

I can't say that thought doesn't fly through my mind, though. If I could order her to stay in the safety of the village, I would.

I chuckle, shaking my head. As if me ordering her to do anything would work.

No, that would be a useless tactic with my beautiful red-haired mate. Sometimes it's hard for me to picture what life was like for her Up Above because she's nothing like the meek, compliant, powerless female she describes.

Glancing at her, it's hard to see her as anything other than what she is now. A warrior.

Thick, furred boots, leggings and tunic made of suede, her hair plaited down her back, just like an orc ready for battle. Her bow is hanging from her shoulder, her quiver full of arrows is slung across her back.

"You're going to stay here?" I can tell Thallose wanted that to come out as a firm statement, even though it sounded like a question. None of us can bear to give her commands, although we all want to.

"We've already fought this battle a dozen times," she says, rolling her eyes.

Azael had been talking to the centaur, Zoron, and the elf, Eldar. Nadira and Thallose were correct when they said the pair would be perfect to head the first incursion. The two of them will be the tip of the spear. We all know they have the most dangerous job of us all, yet they are determined and up to the challenge.

The monk stalks to us and stands in a line with the starflyer and me.

"I heard that, mate," he says. "You say we've had this talk a dozen times? Then we'll have this conversation a thirteenth time."

"The answer is still no," she tosses her head and the sound of the arrows jangling together in her quiver drifts to my ears like out-of-tune music. "I'm not staying here. I'm coming into battle with you."

"Shilo!" Azael calls to one of the white wolven who joined us from as far west as what they call the Hills. "Shilo, can you join us?"

The male lopes over. He's not quite as lean as when he joined us, but there's something about his expression that still shouts "hunger" to me. Maybe it's his desire to enter the upcoming fight.

"I'm told you have one of the best noses of your kind, and we all know wolven have the best sense of smell of all Down Below. Can you scent our mate? Tell us if you smell anything unusual," Azael says, keeping his tone even.

I'm surprised he's doing this, especially now. We discussed it, we three males. We discuss everything now that we're truly mates. It didn't take long for the starflyer to become our friend. How can I hold a grudge against a male who loves my female as much as I do?

I mentioned it in confidence two days ago when we started our trek south. My sense of smell may not be as good as a wolven, but it's the best of our pack. The three of us males deliberated and decided to only reveal this to 'Dira if we had to. I guess he's right. We have to.

Nadira

We're about to march into battle. It's a terrible time to call an outsider over. We should be having a quiet conversation among ourselves. We know the risks. Although we don't talk about it out loud, we all know all four of us might not escape this fight with our lives.

There's been little time for more than cursory pleasantries, and of course our nightly pleasures, since Thallose and I flew back from the Works. Hundreds have joined us at the monk village. Finding enough food, firewood, and shelter has been overwhelming, not to mention the stress of gearing up for the attack itself.

This isn't the time for a casual conversation with a male we hardly know. What's Azael up to?

"Tell us if you smell anything unusual," Azael instructs Shilo. His tone sounds neutral, but he keeps his gaze on me.

Instead of announcing whatever it is he scents, the wolven steps close, leans down, and whispers in my ear.

"Do you know, fine female, that you carry their young in your belly?"

His tone is so respectful, so low, it's almost hypnotic in its soft intensity. It takes an extra moment for me to receive the full impact of his words.

"Pregnant?" I whisper. My hands fly to my belly as my knees buckle.

Shilo grips me to keep me from falling, but happily hands me over to my three mates as they surround me and hold me up.

"I'm carrying your young?" I ask, my eyes round in wonder.

I don't know why I'm totally in shock. The three of them fill me with their seed every night. I'm not stupid. I know how babies are born. After all those years of taking the little white pill to prevent pregnancy, even though I haven't taken one since the day I landed Down Below, it didn't occur to me that I could still get pregnant. I assumed I was too old.

"I thought I couldn't…"

"You're pregnant, 'Dira," my handsome orc tells me. "I've known it for days. I just hoped you'd come to your senses and agree not to be part of the invasion before we had to break it to you like this."

"You all knew?" I accuse, but I can't stay mad at them for ganging up on me. Just look at their faces, shining in happiness.

"Happy?" Thallose asks, as if he truly wonders if I'm thrilled at the news.

"Ecstatic. I carry your babes." Females below bear litters. Is that what I'll have? More than one? And who will they take after? My wise monk? My strong orc? My attentive starflyer? My mind is whirling with questions, but one thing is clear. I can't go into battle, no matter how strongly I vowed to be one of the first to attack.

"I'll stay here. You win." How can I fight them when I've received this news?

The three of them surround me for long minutes, taking turns kissing my cheeks and palming my belly and telling me what a good mother I'll be and how they'll be the best fathers to ever walk the Earth.

I feel I should be in this fight. I'm the reason my mates and hundreds of others are putting their lives on the line and charging into battle against a superior enemy. But I can't. I won't. I'll wait this out somewhere safe.

There is a life inside me now, a life that deserves what I and all the females of the Up Above never received. Love. Safety. This child, whether it's an orc or starflyer or monk, will be loved and cherished and grow up knowing that the fathers in their life would move heaven and earth to provide them with a better future.

Now, instead of my males being afraid for me, I'm afraid for them. Fear sizzles up my spine as I imagine, only for a moment, what it would feel like to return to the village without one of them.

I shake my head, forcing that thought from my mind. For the first time, I realize exactly why they've been so insistent that I not march into battle. It would break their hearts if anything happened to me—or the babes—just as it would break my heart for any of them to be hurt.

"Don't worry," Azael reassures me. "All three of your mates will emerge from this alive and victorious. Dhar is going to carry you to the top of that tree." He points. "And you're going to watch from there."

"The human females, if not injured, will be brought directly here so you can speak with them, calm them, inform them of their choices," Thallose says.

How could he possibly be any more beautiful than the first day I saw him? But he is. He wears his emotions on his face, that mate of mine. In addition to loving me, he's thrilled about being a father.

Within moments, Dhar carries me to the top of a tree, now bare of leaves because winter has begun.

"You keep your bow and arrows handy, though none of those fuckers is going to get through our defenses. Ready for what's coming next?" my handsome green orc asks.

I'm not sure whether he's asking about the battle, the aftermath, or the rest of our lives together. And young? I wonder what they'll look like. Little green orclings with tusks? Will they have hooves and a stark white tail like Thallose? Will they be furred with the most handsome face and keen mind like Azael?

There's so much I don't know about what's coming next. One thing is certain, though. It will be spectacular and filled with so much joy because of the three mates I treasure.