Page 33 of Yasmin and the Yeti
“Sleep,” he rumbled. “Protect you both.”
As she drifted off, secure in his embrace, she felt a profound peace settle over her. A mate and now a child. Their child.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Rhaal watched Yasmin sleep, her face peaceful in the dim light of their cave. The knowledge that she carried their cub had transformed everything. The world outside their sanctuary seemed both more dangerous and more beautiful, the stakes of existence suddenly heightened beyond measure.
He placed a careful hand on her stomach, marveling at the miracle hidden beneath her skin. Though there was no visible change yet, his heightened senses detected subtle differences—her scent had become sweeter and more complex, and her heartbeat seemed to echo with a faint, secondary rhythm.
She stirred beneath his touch, her eyes fluttering open. The smile that bloomed across her face would have brought him to his knees if he’d been standing. Never in his solitary existence had anyone looked at him with such pure joy.
“Morning,” she murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.
He rumbled a response, leaning down to brush his lips against her. Her small hands came up to frame his face, her fingers threading through his mane.
“Hungry?” he asked, pulling back reluctantly. “Make food.”
Her needs had become his singular focus. The primal urge to provide for his pregnant mate drove him with an intensity that surprised him. He had thought himself beyond such basic instincts after years of isolation.
“Starving,” she admitted with a small laugh. “The cub is hungry.”
He immediately rose and moved to the cooking area, where he had already prepared a morning meal of rich bone broth and the sweet purple berries she favored. He had risen before dawn to hunt, determined that she would have the most nutritious food possible.
As they ate, he found himself watching her every movement, cataloging each gesture and expression. Was that wince of discomfort normal? Did the slight tremor in her hand indicate a problem? All his senses were on alert for any sign of danger to his mate or his unborn cub.
“You’re staring,” she said, her tone gently teasing.
He grunted, not denying it. “Need watch. Keep safe.”
Her expression softened. “I’m fine, Rhaal. Women have been having babies for thousands of years.”
But not like this,he thought. Not a human female carrying a Hothian cub. The unknown dangers of their unique situation haunted him.
The day passed in domestic harmony. He insisted on doing the heaviest work, but she refused to be completely idle. That afternoon, she insisted on helping him prepare the evening meal. He had brought back a large pikka, and they worked together skinning and preparing it. The sight of her small handsworking alongside his filled him with a contentment he had never imagined possible.
He wanted to smoke some of the meat for their journey, and he was in the midst of showing her how to season the meat prior to smoking when he noticed her falter. Her hands stilled, and a strange expression crossed her face.
“Yasmin?” he asked, immediately alert.
She blinked rapidly, her face suddenly draining of color. “I feel… strange,” she whispered.
Before he could reach for her, she swayed on her feet. Her eyes rolled back, and her knees buckled.
He lunged forward, barely managing to catch her before she crumpled to the stone floor, her body immediately wracked with violent tremors. Her limbs jerked, and her teeth chattered audibly as chills seized her.
Time seemed to fracture. Suddenly, he was not in their cave but back in the collapsed mine tunnel, watching the falling rocks separate him from Ayla.
Cold, visceral panic flooded his system.
Not again. Please, not again.
He dropped to his knees with her, gathering her trembling form into his arms. Her skin burned with fever, yet she shook as if submerged in ice water. Her eyes fluttered open briefly, unfocused and glazed.
“R-Rhaal?” she gasped through chattering teeth.
“I’m here. Have you. Safe.”
He tried to sound reassuring but his voice was thick with fear. She wasn’t safe. This wasn’t something he could protect her from—he needed the clan healer. Why had he put off the trip? Why hadn’t they gone as soon as she told him?
