Zach came over and stood uncertainly beside Cara.
“Put your hands on her.”
Jessie’s eyes widened. Zach putting hands on Kitani hadn’t gone well only a few moments ago.
Something that hadn’t escaped his attention. “Not sure—”
“Cara, what are you doing?” Kitani asked.
“It’s okay. I have an idea.”
Kitani eyed her doubtfully. “Yeah, well, if Ryan or Cody come in here while Zach has his hands on me, it will be a short-lived one. And so will Zach.”
“I’m not afraid of your mates.” Cara glanced at Zach. “And you shouldn’t be either. They roar like lions, but they’re pussycats inside.”
“Pussycats with five-inch claws and big, nasty teeth,” Zach noted.
Cara gestured toward Kitani. “Kneel here and give me your hands.”
He kneeled and Cara took his hands and placed them on Kitani.
“Do you feel the babies?”
Zach’s eyes were huge. “Yeah. They’re scared.”
Kitani moaned in dismay and Jessie’s heart twisted.
“Okay, I want you to try projecting reassurance.”
“You do that just by breathing,” Zach noted. “How will this be any different?”
“I don’t project. I just am,” Cara said. “They need more than what I can offer.”
Justam? Jessie stared at Cara. The woman was a mystery.
Zach’s eyes narrowed as he focused. Jessie sensed the fringes of his efforts. Her heart slowed, and she blinked, suddenly tired.
“Ah.” Cara folded her fingers together. “I can tell by their energy that it’s working.”
“I think so, yeah.” Zach kept breathing.
Kitani was watching him with wide eyes. “If he can do that—”
“Yeah.” Cara sat up and let Zach pull his hands away.
“Cara, this might be big.” Kitani’s voice rose in her excitement. “If he kept them calm during the birth...”
“The whole thing might go off without a hitch,” Cara finished.
Jessie connected dots. “The babies shift to animal during delivery?”
Kitani’s mouth straightened. “The stress of the contractions can cause the babies to shift out of phase with the mother,” she said. “The babies panic. They are born with claws...”
Jessie’s stomach twisted. Howawful. And, confusing. “But is this any different from the way Weres delivered in the past?”
Cara nodded. “We don’t know why the mothers are dying in record numbers. But now, I wonder.” She met Zach’s confused gaze. “Our midwives have many Cryptid talents. But Empaths have been particularly scarce over the last fifty years.”
“You think midwives used to be Empaths?” Jessie asked.
