Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 104: Episode : Mara’s Smooth Birth

The journey to Mara’s cabin was not far since it wasn’t that far from her own cabin.

Roxy rode on Kaelen’s back in his full Wolf form, gripping his thick silver fur as he tore through the forest with supernatural speed. Torian, surprisingly, kept pace, running alongside them in his massive white Tiger form, his paws silent against the snow.

Zarek had stayed home with the children.

When they skidded to a halt in front of Mara’s cabin, the scent of distress was thick in the air.

Mara was groaning in pain. Roxy already pictured how much she was panicking right now.

Roxy slid off Kaelen’s back. She didn’t wait for him to shift back. She grabbed her medical kit (a satchel of herbs, clean cloths, and System-bought scissors) and walked into the cabin.

It was warm inside, heated by a central fire pit, but the air was heavy with the metallic tang of blood and the musk of a terrified shifter.

Mara lay on a pile of furs, her face pale and beaded with sweat. Her large belly rippled with a contraction, but instead of pushing, she was clenching her teeth, fighting her own body.

"Roxy!" Mara gasped, tears streaming down her face. "You came!"

"Of course I came," Roxy said, immediately dropping to her knees beside the furs. She threw her coat to the side. "Why are you holding back, Mara? You’re going to hurt the pups."

"I was scared," Mara sobbed. "I needed you... I can’t do it without you..."

Roxy quickly checked her. The dilation was full. The first pup was right there.

"I am so touched darling... but you need to breathe," Roxy commanded, her voice calm and authoritative.

System, scan vitals.

[System Scan: Subject (Mara). Status: Active Labor. Dilation: 10cm. Fetal Heartbeats: 4 (Strong). Stress Level: High.]

"Okay, you’re fine," Roxy assured her, wiping Mara’s forehead with a damp cloth. "But seriously, Mara? You were due next week. What happened? Did you fall? Did you lift something heavy?"

Mara’s face turned a bright, beet red. She looked away, biting her lip.

"We... Vorn and I..." Mara mumbled.

"What?" Roxy pressed, checking the position of the first pup.

"It is Mating Season," Mara whispered, her voice barely audible. " The pheromones... we couldn’t help it. We were... active."

Roxy paused. She stared at Mara. "Active? You mean you had sex? While you were two months pregnant?"

"We thought it would be safe!" Mara defended weakly, wincing as another contraction hit. "We didn’t use the... the flower. We used the back door! We thought it wouldn’t touch the womb!"

Roxy blinked. She opened her mouth to yell, then closed it. She took a deep breath.

YOU HORNY IDIOTS.

Orgasm causes uterine contractions regardless of which hole you use!

"Okay," Roxy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I want to scold you. I really, really want to give you a lecture on biology right now. But seeing as there is a head crowning between your legs, I will save the lecture for later."

She positioned herself between Mara’s legs.

"Alright, Mara. On the next contraction, I need you to push. Don’t fight it. Vorn!"

The Beta Wolf scrambled into the room, looking like he was about to faint. "Yes, Mother?"

"Get behind her," Roxy ordered. "Support her back. Let her crush your hand if she needs to. And do not pass out, or I will let the Tiger eat you."

Vorn nodded frantically, sliding behind his mate and propping her up.

"Okay," Roxy said, watching the muscles ripple. "Push!"

Mara screamed.

But unlike the terrifying ordeal Roxy and Mara had feared, the birth was surprisingly smooth. The first pup slid out into Roxy’s waiting hands with a wet squelch, encased in its amniotic sac.

[Gender: Male]

"It’s a boy," Roxy smiled, quickly tearing the sac open with her fingers to let the pup breathe.

The tiny creature gasped, then let out a high-pitched mewl. He was dark grey, slick and wriggling.

"Another one!" Mara gasped.

"Keep going!"

The second one followed two minutes later. Then the third. Then the fourth.

They came out easily, one after another, as if they knew their mother was tired and wanted to spare her the pain. Within twenty minutes, it was over.

Roxy sat back on her heels, surrounded by bloody towels and four squirming, whining bundles of fur.

She looked at them. They were so small. Their eyes were squeezed shut, their ears folded flat against their heads. They looked like wet potatoes.

For a second, Roxy wasn’t in the Iron-Wood. She was back on Earth, in her childhood garage, watching her old golden retriever, Daisy, give birth to a litter. She remembered the smell of the straw, the warmth and the miracle of life.

Daisy had died a few years later, but that moment...

"Roxy?" Mara’s voice broke her reverie.

Roxy blinked, shaking her head. She looked down at the wolf pups. These weren’t pets. These were people. Shifters. But the feeling of awe was the same.

"They’re beautiful, Mara," Roxy whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Four healthy pups. Three boys, one girl."

She cleaned the last one, a tiny runt with white-tipped ears, and placed it on Mara’s chest.

Mara looked down at her children, her exhaustion melting into pure, radiant love. She licked the top of the pup’s head, her tears dripping onto its fur.

"Thank you," Mara sobbed, looking at Roxy with worship in her eyes. "Thank you, Roxy. You are the Moon Goddess’s blessing to this pack. Without you... I don’t know if I could have done it."

"You did all the work," Roxy said softly, wiping her hands on a clean cloth. "I just caught them."

[System Notification: Mission Complete - The Midwife.]

[Reward: +500,000 LP. +100 Reputation with Wolf Clan.]

Roxy stood up, her knees aching. She felt gross, covered in fluids and sweat, but she also felt accomplished.

She turned to look at Vorn.

The Beta male was trembling. He was staring at the pile of pups with wide, terrified eyes, looking utterly useless.

"Vorn!" Roxy snapped, clapping her hands in front of his face.

Vorn jumped. "Y-yes?"

"Stop shaking," Roxy scolded, her tone shifting from gentle midwife to pack matriarch. "Your mate just did the hard part. Now it’s your turn."

She pointed to a basin of warm water and a pile of clean furs.

"Clean the pups. Gently. Then prepare a fresh nest for them near the fire. Mara needs to rest, and she needs a lot of meat to replenish her milk. Do not make her ask for anything. If she lifts a finger, you failed."

"Yes! Yes, immediately!" Vorn scrambled up, his fatherly instincts finally kicking in over his panic. He rushed to the basin, looking at the pups with respect.

Roxy sighed, rolling her shoulders. She stepped away from the nesting area to give the new family some space.

She walked toward the entrance of the den, needing fresh air.

As she stepped out into the porch, she nearly bumped into a solid wall of muscle.

Torian was leaning against the stone wall, arms crossed over his chest. He was back in his human form, wearing a spare fur cloak he must have borrowed from Kaelen.

He was staring past her, looking at the scene inside, the pups nursing, the mother cooing, the father fussing.

His icy blue eyes were unreadable. He had never seen a birth. In the Golden Citadel, high-born females gave birth in secluded, sterile rooms attended by healers. Fathers were only invited in once the child was cleaned and presented like a trophy.

Watching Roxy command the room, covered in blood that wasn’t hers, bringing life into the world...

He pushed off the wall and stepped into her personal space.

"You are..." Torian started, his voice unusually quiet. "Competent."

"High praise coming from the King of complaining," Roxy said tiredly, wiping a smudge of blood from her cheek.

"I mean it," Torian murmured. He reached out, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw. "You didn’t even flinch while the blood and liquid stained your beautiful skin."

He looked down at Roxy. His pupils dilated, swallowing the blue. The scent of new life and milk was heavy in the air, and it was triggering something deep and possessive in his tiger brain.

He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. His breath was hot against her skin.

Torian whispered, his voice dropping to a seductive purr. "But watching you... it makes me wonder."

His hand slid down to rest heavily on her lower stomach.

"If the Wolf can make four..." Torian teased, nibbling her earlobe. "Imagine what a King could give you. Shall we try for one tonight? I promise I won’t make you use the back door."

Roxy went still.

Then, without looking at him, she drove her elbow backward.

THWACK.

She caught him right in the ribs. Hard.

"Oof!" Torian doubled over, wheezing.

"Read the room, Cat," Roxy said, stepping down the stairs without looking back. "And if you touch me with those intentions before I’ve had a bath, I will kill you."

Torian wheezed, clutching his side, but as he watched her walk away, a grin spread across his face.

"Violent," he wheezed admiringly. "I love her."