Chapter 220: Was he flirting now?

The cave felt smaller once the entrance was sealed, but it was a good kind of small. The kind that felt like a shield.

After the troller was offloaded and the heavy hides were wedged into the gaps of the entrance, the space grew quiet. The only sound left was the muffled wind whooshing angrily outside.

We worked in a steady, comfortable silence for a while, just moving things around to make it feel less like a hole in the mountain and more like a place where we could actually live.

“There are no other ways in or out, Little tiger,” Noah said as he walked back from the deeper shadows, wiping dust from his palms. “The back is solid rock. Just us and the squirrels.”

I nodded, leaning against a flat boulder. I felt a heavy, dull ache in my lower back—a constant reminder that I was carrying a lot more than just my body.

“That’s a relief. I don’t think I have another ’defend the perimeter’ moment in me tonight.” I said, chuckling dryly.

Fenric and Damar were already at work on the fire. Damar had scraped out a pit in the dry dirt, and soon, a small, stubborn flame began to chew on the cedar wood we’d brought. As the heat started to radiate outward and prick on my skin, I finally took off my coat and boots.

“Thank the stars,” I breathed, stretching my arms above my head. “I thought I’d be wearing that thing until spring.”

They were warm and comfortable, but perhaps I’ve become accustomed to wearing only a little since coming here, so it felt stuffy and a bit uncomfortable. I only put up with being a bundled toasted marshmallow because I hate the cold.

“You look better without it,” Fenric suddenly rumbled, leaning back. He reached out, his hand hovering near my belly before he gently pressed his palm against the fabric of my tunic. “Are the little tigers still asleep? That was a rough ride.”

“They’re fine, Fenric,” I said but I can’t deny the warmth that wrapped around my heart when he placed his hand there and spoke so softly.

“Then what about you, Arinya? Are you fun?” He asked, his eyes immediately dropping from my belly to what I was sitting on as he sat cross-legged by the fire. “Are you comfortable? Do you need more furs under you?”

I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound bouncing softly off the stone walls.

There were some sitting pouches I made with the rest of the wool. Instead of making all of them into pillows, I made some into soft sitting mats covered in fur, just for a situation like this.

The ground was too hard so it worked out well, but even now, Fenric still wanted me to add a bit more fur. How sweet, but…

“I’m fine, Fenric. Honestly. You’ve asked me four times since we sat down.” I said and looked at the three of them—Damar’s silver hair glowing in the firelight, Noah’s watchful eyes, and Fenric’s restless energy. “What about you guys? A little cold might not hurt, but you never know. Are you comfortable?”

“This is nothing,” Noah said, though he sat close enough to the flames that I could see the steam rising from his damp hair.

“Sure, keep telling yourselves that,” I teased, reaching out to poke Fenric’s arm. “You’re all made of iron, I know.”

“It’s the truth,” he insisted. “Our blood runs hotter than yours, Arinya. But…” He paused, his gaze softening as he looked at me. “The heat is easier to maintain when you are within sight.”

I blushed.

Was he flirting now?

I’d usually expect these silent, smooth lines from Damar, but he seems occupied by something.

I looked in his direction while clearing my throat.

“Well, it is true that body heat works wonders,” I said and Noah took that as a cue to act out.

“Right? Why don’t you rub bodies with mine?” He asked and I clicked my tongue.

“It’s too early for you to be acting shameless,” I said, and Fenric laughed.

I laughed too and slowly, the atmosphere quieted down.

The fire was crackling, the cave was warm, and I was finally starting to feel human again. But as I sat there on the furs, a very familiar, very insistent pressure began to build in my lower gut.

I tried to ignore it. I tried to tell myself it was just the babies making me feel ’heavy’ down there, but it was not.

I really, really wanted to hold it until morning. The idea of unsealing that door and stepping back into the frozen hellscape outside just to squat in a snowdrift was my current definition of a nightmare.

But then my bladder gave a sharp twinge, and I knew, I needed to pee as well. And once I let the pee go, the rest of the dam was going to break. My guts felt like they were doing a slow, heavy roll.

I couldn’t sit still. I shifted my weight, my legs curling instinctively, and I bit down on my lower lip to keep from groaning.

“What’s wrong?”

The question came in a perfect, three-part harmony. They all looked at each other with a brief, sharp glare for speaking at the same time, but the rivalry died instantly when they saw the twisted look on my face.

“Ari? Are you in pain?” Damar asked, his emerald eyes slowly scanning my face for any sign of a medical emergency.

“Is it the cubs?” Fenric added, already halfway to his feet.

I pursed my lips, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks—not from the fire, but from pure embarrassment. I looked at the beautifully sealed entrance, then back at them.

“I need to… poo,” I whispered.

The silence that followed was deafening.

They all blinked, their eyes slowly drifting to the barricade of heavy hides and the troller frame they had just spent thirty minutes perfecting as a door.

“I know,” I said, my voice rising in a desperate pitch. “I’m sorry! I didn’t expect this either, but I feel like my guts are going to spill out any second, so please… It’s now or never.”

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