Chapter 24
Carla
Inla drove the sorhox back to town. The beast seemed to understand the urgency, his powerful legs eating up the distance, the bells jingling with each stride. Beth rode ahead of us with Ruugar, while I shared the rear seat behind Grannie Lil, who clutched her cane with gnarled hands.
Lonesome Creek appeared ahead, Christmas lights outlining buildings and storefronts, the giant tree in the town square sparkling with thousands of tiny bulbs. Under different circumstances, I would have stopped to admire its beauty. Now, it was just a beacon guiding us home.
Inla’s house sat a short distance beyond town, a charming one-story ranch with gingerbread trim and a wide front porch. Light spilled from every window, and as we pulled up, Rosey and Holly waited on the porch, concern etched on their faces.
“Ruugar called us, and we came right away,” Rosey said. “Is Beth—”
“She’s in labor,” Inla said as she climbed out of the sleigh and helped Grannie down. “I’ll do a full exam inside, but I believe this town’s about to be gifted with its first youngling.”
Ruugar scooped Beth up in his arms and carried her from the sleigh, rushing up the steps to Inla’s house while Beth moaned and clutched her belly.
“I’ve got you, breela,” he said on the porch, pausing to nudge his forehead against hers. “You’re doing so well.”
Beth managed a smile despite another contraction ripping through her. “Your youngling has your impatience.”
“Just breathe through it,” Grannie said from behind them.
Beth nodded, her face pale in the moonlight, her breath coming in controlled pants. Despite her obvious discomfort, she was still composed. If it was me, I had a feeling I’d be freaking out.
“First younglings take their time,” Grannie said, following Ruugar inside Inla’s house, her cane thudding on the wooden floorboards.
We went inside.
Dungar started filling a kettle for tea while someone else raided the cupboard for crackers, taking some cheese from the fridge.
Ruugar took Beth down the hall, passing a cozy living room where the males would wait once they arrived. Christmas decorations coated many of the surfaces, from garlands, to candles, and even a small real tree in the corner holding handmade ornaments.
Inla followed Ruugar down a hallway. “The birthing room is on the right,” she said. “Everything prepared just like we discussed.”
Her guest bedroom had been transformed with a special low, wide bed covered in clean sheets.
Lamps cast a warm glow across the chairs placed along one wall where some could sit.
Two windows on the right looked out onto the snowy yard, where sorhoxes were being unhitched from sleighs as more orcs and their mates arrived.
Ruugar gently laid Beth onto the bed, his big frame making the room seem smaller. He brushed hair from her forehead, his dark eyes never leaving her face.
“If you want me with you, I’m staying,” he said.
“Please,” Beth croaked out.
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Grannie rolled up her sleeves. “Males belong with their mates during birth, human or orc.”
Inla bustled around, arranging pillows behind Beth’s back, checking supplies, issuing instructions to Holly and Rosey standing nearby.
Allie and Gracie, then Jessi arrived, each bringing something for the birth. Special teas, soft cloths, calming oils. The room filled with feminine energy, a circle of support around Beth as she prepared to bring new life into the world.
“Carla,” Beth called, her voice strained. “Come closer.”
I approached the bed, uncertain of my role in this intimate family moment. Beth reached for my hand, her grip strong.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, giving everyone a shaky smile. “All of us together, as it should be.”
My throat choking off, I squeezed her hand. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Through the crack in the door, I glimpsed the living room filling with males. They gathered together, their faces creased with concern and their deep voices a comforting rumble. Family coming together in celebration and support.
Becken’s eyes found mine, and something unspoken passed between us. He nodded once before turning back to say something to Hail.
“Another one’s coming,” Beth whimpered, her face tightening with pain.
Aunt Inla checked Beth’s progress while Gracie wiped her brow with a cool cloth. Ruugar and I stood on either side of the bed, urging her to pant, to breathe through the contraction.
“You’re moving fast,” Inla said with a big smile. “You’ll be pushing soon.”
The contraction waned, and Beth collapsed back on the bed.
“Tell me about when you knew Ruugar was your mate,” I said, hoping to distract her. “Was it love at first sight?”
A low laugh burst from Beth. “I first met him when my forced-fiancée and I came to town to view the venue. But our second first meeting was when I was dressed in a hideous gown and running away from my wedding. He knew immediately I was the one, but I thought he was just another annoying male.”
“She tried to resist me,” Ruugar said. “But I had other plans.”
“The mating mark appeared not long after that.” She stroked the pretty golden symbol on her inner wrist. “I thought I was hallucinating.”
“Like me with Ostor,” Rosey chimed in from where she stood near the foot of the bed. “One minute I was asking him to be my fake date for my sister’s wedding, the next minute we were trying to pretend a lack of interest in each other while sharing the same hotel bed.”
“Tark wooed me with a raven and a bobcat,” Gracie said. “When he dropped to his knees and licked my palms to mark me, I pretty much swooned.”
“Hail impressed me with how kind he was to everyone around him,” Allie said with a fond smile. “He stares at me like I’m the answer to all the questions he’d been asking his whole life.”
Their stories flowed around the room, tales of unexpected love and destiny, of lives forever changed by a single moment of recognition. Each woman had faced a choice, to accept the mark and what it meant, or walk away from all it might offer.
They’d all chosen to stay.
“What about you, Carla?” Beth asked between contractions. “When did your mark appear?”
All eyes turned to me, curiosity mingled with knowing smiles.
“It was,” I said, my face overheating. “Very recently. We, um…”
“During the snowstorm?” Grannie’s sharp eyes missed nothing. “When you were stranded with Becken?”
My silence was answer enough.
“Gotta love an orc male,” Gracie said with a grin. “They sure know how to woo a woman.”
Rosey leaned into her side. “Totally.”
“The marks often appear at pivotal moments,” Inla said, her lips quivering with humor. “When the heart is most open to possibility.”
“Or most vulnerable,” I whispered.
“It’s pretty much the same thing, isn’t it?” Grannie patted my arm. “Vulnerability is courage wearing its heart on the outside.”
Beth’s grip on my hand tightened as another contraction swept through her. “Oh. This one feels different. I think I have to push.” Her gaze met mine. “No, I know I have to push. Baby’s coming. Baby’s coming!”
“Start counting, Beth,” Grannie said as Inla checked her. “You too, Ruugar. It’ll give you something to do besides look like you’re going to pass out. None of that, now. Your youngling’s ready to meet the world and they want their daddy front and center.”
What followed was the most wonderful experience I’d ever been a part of. Beth’s strength amazed me. I marveled at the raw power in her small human body as she worked to bring her child into the world. Ruugar supported her, counting along with me.
Inla provided calm direction, Grannie offered wise advice, and everyone else formed a circle of support, passing cool washcloths, offering encouragement, and just being present as this Christmas miracle unfolded in front of us.
“You’re doing beautifully,” Inla told Beth as she knelt on the bed between the woman’s legs. “Your youngling’s almost here.”
“Another big push,” Grannie cried out. “That’s it, girl. Bring your baby out into this amazing world.”
Beth pushed with a harsh cry and a new sound filled the room, a high, indignant wail that announced the arrival of new life.
“A daughter,” Grannie said, her voice thick with emotion. “Strong and perfect.”
Ruugar made a sound unlike anything I’d ever heard, part sob, part laughter, all joy in one single syllable. Tears streamed down his face as Grannie placed their youngling on Beth’s belly.
“Look at her,” Beth whispered, stroking her daughters back. “She’s beautiful.”
The baby was special in her own unique way. Slightly larger than a human newborn, she had a dusting of dark hair and skin that held a faint greenish tint. She opened her eyes and gazed up at her mother.
“She has your eyes,” Beth told Ruugar, whose finger was already being gripped by his daughter’s tiny hand.
“And your determination,” he croaked.
The room filled with happy tears as the newest member of Lonesome Creek made her entrance on Christmas Eve. Through the open door, I heard the news spreading to the males in the living room, their voices calling out congratulations.
“What will you name her?” Allie asked, leaning closer to see the baby.
Beth and Ruugar exchanged a look of understanding.
“Noma,” Beth said. “It means ‘gift’ in the orc language.”
“A perfect gift for Christmas Eve,” Inla said softly.
While Grannie and Inla tended to Beth, the baby was cleaned and swaddled, then passed around the circle of women. Each took a turn holding her, whispering blessings and welcome.
When Noma reached me, I hesitated. “I’ve never held a baby before.”
“Like this,” Rosey said, showing me. “Support her head.”
The weight of the newborn in my arms shocked me. She was light yet wonderfully solid. Her tiny face scrunched, and she blinked up at me with dark eyes. One perfect hand waved in the air.
I was an overwhelming mass of emotions. This tiny being represented everything I’d been missing in my pursuit of career success. She was the embodiment of connection, continuity, and love, everything this town was trying to achieve.
“Hello, Noma,” I said. “Welcome to your family.”
The word had expanded to include everyone in this room, in the living room, and even the tourists who’d chosen to spend their special day with us. A network of relationships built on choice rather than obligation, on love freely given and received.
This was what truly mattered. Not prestigious positions or professional recognition. This circle of belonging, this shared joy in new life, this moment of connection.
I looked up to find Becken watching from the doorway, his gaze full of wonder and longing. Without words, I knew he felt the same as me.
Later, when Noma had been introduced to every member of her extended family and Beth was resting comfortably with Ruugar sitting by her side, I walked back to the hotel with Becken.
Neither of us spoke, the wonder of what we’d witnessed still settling around us like the soft snow that had begun to fall.
Christmas lights glowed ahead in the dark, and a choir sang “Silent Night”.
“What are you thinking?” Becken asked as we reached the saloon entrance.
I looked up at the stars scattered across the sky, then back at him. “That some gifts can’t be wrapped in paper. They’re intangible things that have to be recognized by the heart.”
His expression softened, and understanding dawned in his eyes. “Like Noma.”
“Yup. Like community. Like belonging.”
Like the golden mark on my wrist and what it offered if I was brave enough to accept it.
We stood outside the saloon, watching the snow fall, the world quiet except for the choir that had moved on to sing “Jingle Bells”.
Becken took my hand and squeezed it. “Merry Christmas Eve, Carla.”
“Merry Christmas Eve, Becken.”
We parted at the top of the stairs, each going to our separate rooms.
As I prepared for bed, the emptiness that had always thrived inside me felt different. The hollow ache I’d carried since my parents died had left me, replaced with the blooming joy of hope.
Tomorrow was Christmas Day.
And for the first time in my life, I’d understand what the holiday truly meant.
It wasn’t about presents under a tree or perfect decorations or social obligations.
It was about love.