Mathilda found the whole thing… amusing. In its own weird way.
She watched with eerie silence throughout the last 8 months at the actions of a man. Ever since discovering that she was the Dragonborn, the brown headed Nord took advantage of it. The minute she heard from Farengar about the College of Winterhold, she grabbed Lydia and was off. It was rather difficult, but she managed to deal with the issues there. Her becoming the new Arch-Mage was a surprise, but welcoming. The position gave her the access she wanted and needed. It being to get her hands on every information she could that dealt with magic.
Yet, nothing prepared her for this. This was why she watched and almost analyzed constantly over the long period of time.
Mathilda was pregnant and currently on her last few weeks before birth. It came as a shock and changed the world for both herself and her husband. The trips, quests and experimentations of magical properties came to a screeching halt. Neither wanted anything to go wrong and for her to lose the unborn child. Of course, she could do just about anything else. Nobody could force her to sit around for 9 months and do nothing. For the most part, she decided to do research. Of a kind that didn't require much aside from reading books and putting a puzzle together.
In her research, she met a lot of bigotry and contradicted information. That was what took her so long to piece everything together. Months of hard work and reading through hundreds of books finally showed its results. In writing, at least.
For the most part, not much was known about what a werewolf does if its mate got pregnant. All she got out of it was that the mate got tugged away until birth and nobody could get near them. If they did, the werewolf would tear them into shreds. Some books went further by saying that if the baby wasn't up to standards, they were killed without a thought. It didn't matter if it was before or after birth. Some of the stories that were shared sent shivers down Mathilda's spine with fear and disgust.
But reality broke all these expectations.
Farkas and his wolf were overprotective of her and the unborn child, that was true. Yet, they didn't kidnap and hide her away somewhere until birth. Instead, the giant Nord man hovered over her constantly and followed her almost everywhere. If somebody looked at her direction in the wrong way, the giant man growled at them. If someone said or did anything even a bit off to her, he all but chased them off. At least he didn't tear them to shreds, which was a relief. Farkas tend to her every need, even if she protested to it. They butt heads a lot of the time due to that. Sometimes she turned to use her ice magic to glue him into place so that he'd stop. He didn't kill or hurt her for any of that. Instead, he'd pout for awhile before returning to what he did before.
Mathilda's inner wolf enjoyed the whole thing, much to her annoyance. It was rare when both agreed on anything. They fought constantly from day one. The day when the brown headed woman accepted the ritual of being turned into a werewolf. But there was one thing that they both agreed to wholeheartedly. To them, Farkas was perfect. For the wolf it was a mate thing. For her it was because the man never once made her feel lesser than she was as a person. Not even when he found out that she preferred the use of magic over everything else, especially in battle. Most Nords would snort and belittle her, saying that she was not a true Nord. A true Nord would use a weapon and head into situations head-first. If they died while fighting, even better. Farkas wasn't like that. The first thing he asked of her was what drawn her to the arts. He'd sit and listen in silence as she told him many stories and some information. The whole thing he was doing during the pregnancy was perfectly understandable, even if it still irritated her.
Not now, though.
Winter was harsh this year, more than usual. Nobody could get away from it. Not even Whiterun could escape it. Now, it was late in the evening and everybody was home. Lydia has long since decided to buy a house and move out after the couple married. This gave Farkas and Mathilda the privacy and space they needed.
Right now, Farkas decided to bundle her up with blankets of fur. More than necessary, as she was fine with only the standard of one. It didn't even matter that the cold didn't bother them due to their race. The Dragonborn allowed for it to happen without much of a fuss. Only because this was tamed in comparison to his other actions. The couple lay in bed. The large man wrapped his arms around his wife and buried his face in her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair, relaxed after a long day. Farkas inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of his wife and unborn child. Nothing was off, which made his inner wolf growl with approval. He felt the child move a bit before they settled down. The man's shoulders eased with relief. These past number of months have been taxing on him as the wolf kept fighting to the surface to protect their mate. To be so close to the birth has both made things worse for him but better. Soon the craziness would be over and they could meet their little cub.
"I can't wait"
His rough voice sounded his thoughts. Never in his life has he thought he'd settle down and have a child. Not with his warrior-like lifestyle, especially with that of his wife's. This was an unexpected gift. One that he treasured.
The fingers in his hair paused for a moment. Slowly, they brushed some of his somewhat long hair out of his face. The back of tanned fingers stroked his now exposed cheek.
"Me neither" Mathilda voiced in agreement. Then hesitated. "I… I hope everything will turn out well."
That was one of her biggest fears. Anything could go wrong before, during and after the birth. She sometimes, if able to sleep, had nightmares about it. Could her body handle the birthing itself, after the amount of damage her body took over the last few years? What of her child? Were they going to be alright after the birthing? Her hand almost shook as it moved from his face to rest on her stomach. Only when she felt a kick in response that she relaxed a bit. The arms around her tightened a bit. Farkas rose, enough to meet her face to face. His much larger hand rested upon hers and gave a gentle squeeze.
"It will, my dear."
"How can you know?"
Farkas gave his wife a relaxed smile and bumped their noses together.
"You've taken a lot of potions to help you and our cub. You even got that Restoration woman from the college to come and help with the birthing. I won't let anything happen to you or the cub."
He told her with great confidence. It was one of the many times he was thankful that his wife was a mage. Gods know that her magic saved everybody more times than they could count. If she was in danger, she could use her destruction magic with ease. If she had an injury of any kind, she used either her restoration magic or healing potions and whatever problem she had was gone. Those things helped him, and the wolf not go any crazier than they already were.
Mathilda looked at him with skepticism but soothed it over then nodded.
"You'll be there in the room with me… right?"
The woman asked, almost hating how nervous she sounded. Yet, the wolf was especially anxious, which triggered hers. The father rarely, if ever, was at the birthing. It didn't matter the race. Most did other things to occupy their time until the child was born. They and the healers felt like the men had no place at the birthing as it was a woman's domain. The thought of her husband being even outside the room, behind the door, was too far for her.
Farkas growled at the thought.
"I'd like to see them try and keep me away."
If they even try to push him out, arms and heads would be ripped right off. It'd be seen not only a challenge to him, but to his inner wolf as well. Mathilda nuzzled her husband's cheek and smiled. Feeling satisfied for now, she settled more into the cocoon of fur blankets and his arms. Farkas tilted his head and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. It made her smile more and rewarded him with a kiss of her own. With her head tugged underneath his chin, the couple relaxed.
Just a few more weeks, and they could meet their cub for the first time. They couldn't wait.