and sweeps her into his arms. She holds him close as she begins to weep quietly. Frixon watches the exchange and blanches before marching to the entrance. I halt him with an upheld hand, and surprisingly he stops.
“You can’t go in there,” I say gently. “They are performing surgery on her.”
“Birth is a natural process so there should be no need for that.” He clutches the sides of his head, pulling at his hair and baring his fangs. “I don’t understand why this is happening.”
“The baby is stuck and can’t be born the normal way,” I explain. “Vivian needs medical help.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that she could die and most likely will, but I can’t bring myself to do that to him. And I don’t want Frixon to disrupt the healers, who need their concentration now more than ever.
However, getting between a mated male and his heartmate is never a smart move.
“I must go to my silana,” he says, jerking up his head.
“Frixon, wait!” I hold out my arms, my tone pleading. “There’s nothing you can do that isn’t already being done.”
He takes a step closer and peers down at me, a snarl rumbling from his mouth. I know I should move, but I can’t get my legs to work. Part of my paralysis is from fear because Frixon looks ready to hurt me, but the other part is because I don’t want him to harm the healers. If he sees what they are doing to Vivian, he will surely try to kill them, which will ruin any chance of survival she has.
Frixon’s snarl morphs into a growl, and that feral sound has the hair on the back of my neck standing straight up. Unable to help it, I flinch at the look of pure rage streaking through his gaze.
“Frixon, stop!”
Draal’s shout goes unheeded as Frixon grips my arms, most likely about to toss me out of the way. And since I’m not a cat, the chances of me landing on my feet are zero.
Except he stills. It’s so sudden that it’s as if he’s been frozen.
“If you ever touch my Massela again, I will rip your beating heart from your chest and present it to her as a gift.”
Chapter 3
I suck in a breath at the sound of Jaxar’s voice.
And that’s when I notice he has his claws buried in the side of Frixon’s neck; blood already flows from the punctures, inky tendrils in the darkness of the night. Jaxar’s other hand is splayed across the warrior’s chest, the tips of his claws resting directly over Frixon’s heart.
Jaxar was not fucking around about removing it.
Frixon releases me and stiffly takes a step back, his movements guided by Jaxar. I glance up at my husband’s face only to find it etched in fury. His eyes, usually glowing with love for me, hold a brightness that’s too much, making him appear almost crazed. He doesn’t look at me, not once, as he hauls Frixon away with Draal’s help. I don’t think Jaxar will kill him because he would’ve already if that was his intent, but there’s a part of me that still fears for Frixon’s life.
A weak cry has me spinning on my heel and shoving the tent flap aside. I halt as soon as I step inside, my gaze immediately locking on the bundle in Anwa’s arms. Scarlett comes to stand beside me, and we both watch as the Boraq woman lays the infant on a blanket before wrapping its tiny body.
“Take her,” Anwa says, her voice urgent.
Scarlett crosses the room quickly and takes the baby from the healer to hold it against her chest. Anwa turns her back to me, leaning over Vivian as Brannick murmurs something too soft for me to hear.
At Scarlett’s gasp, I hurry over, but my trepidation grows with each of my steps. The odor of blood fills the air with its coppery scent, and I know I’m not just detecting it because the pregnancy has heightened my sense of smell. No, it’s because there is a lot of blood, and it’s everywhere. It covers both of the healers’ hands, ending at their elbows, and the blanket under Vivian’s body is soaked with a large crimson stain. And it’s spreading.
My stomach lurches, and I press my fingers to my lips as I breathe deep, trying to keep the nausea at bay. But it doesn’t stop me from taking the final step toward the bed.
And then I almost wish I