Page 35

His deep voice cuts through my emotional spiral. I look up to find Vex filling the chamber entrance, his massive frame blocking out most of the light. Those yellow eyes lock onto the testing kit in my hands, pupils contracting to predatory slits.

"You knew," I accuse, anger flaring through the tears. "You could smell the changes in my body, couldn't you? And you said nothing."

He steps into the small space, wings folding carefully to avoid the walls. "Suspected," he corrects, voice unusually gentle. "Prime seed often takes root during heat claiming. But confirming the pregnancy required waiting for your confirmation.”

"Well, congratulations," I say bitterly, holding up the positive test like damning evidence. "Your breeding was successful. Mission accomplished."

I expect triumph—the territorial satisfaction of marking his genetic claim in the most permanent way possible. Instead, something surprisingly tender crosses his inhuman features. The fierce Chimeric Dominator who's claimed me with such overwhelming force suddenly looks almost... uncertain.

He kneels beside me, bringing his intimidating height down to my level. One massive hand extends toward my belly, then hesitates in midair.

"May I?" he asks quietly.

The request instead of demand catches me completely off guard. In all our time together, he's never asked permission to touch me. This unexpected display of respect feels both too little and strangely moving.

I nod before I can think better of it.

His palm spreads across my stomach with devastating gentleness, the heat of his scaled skin burning through my thin sleeping shift. The massive hand spans my entire abdomen, claws carefully retracted to avoid any possibility of harm.

"My seed took root in you," he murmurs, voice filled with wonder alongside possessive satisfaction. "Now no one can question my claim. You carry my legacy."

"Is that all this means to you?" I pull away from his touch, fresh anger cutting through my vulnerability. "Another way to mark your territory?"

Something flickers across his face—an expression I can't quite read. "The child changes everything. Provides you protection under mate provisions of Conquest Law that simple claiming cannot."

"I know the legal implications," I say sharply. Medical training has taught me too much about the brutal realities claimed omegas face. "Doesn't make this any less terrifying."

His wings shift slightly, betraying surprise at my knowledge. "You understand Chimeric hybrid development?"

"Enough." I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling exposed in more ways than one. "Accelerated gestation, increased nutritional demands, spinal modifications to accommodate future wing development. Scale formation in the second trimester causing maternal hyperthermia." I meet his gaze directly. "Eighty-five percent survival rate with proper medical care. Much lower without it."

Instead of dismissing my concerns, he nods gravely. "We will acquire whatever you need."

The simple statement disarms me. Not denial or minimization, but acceptance and commitment. It's disturbingly close to actual partnership.

"The breeding facilities will want me even more now," I whisper, fear creeping into my voice. "An omega proven compatible with Chimeric genetics..."

"Yes." His acknowledgment is unflinching. "Higher value target. But also greater protection under law." He moves closer, wings extending slightly in what I recognize as protective posturing. "My child grows within you. What you carry is more than territorial marker—it is future, legacy, life that binds us both."

Despite everything, something primal in my omega biology responds to his words. Beneath terror and resentment, a connection forms to this child that transcends how it was conceived.

"I don't know how to feel about this," I admit.

A rumbling sound vibrates through his chest as his nostrils flare wide. "Your scent changes again."

The shift in his focus is immediate and predatory. From gentle reverence to dominant intensity in a heartbeat. I recognize the signs—his body responding to hormonal changes in mine, alpha instincts triggered by confirmed successful breeding.

"Vex," I start, uncertain whether I'm warning him away or acknowledging what's building between us.

He moves with startling speed, one arm circling my waist to pull me against his powerful chest. His wings spread wide, creating a dark canopy that blocks out everything except his overwhelming presence.

"Breeding successful," he growls, voice dropping to that register that seems to vibrate through my bones. "My seed growing inside you. My omega. My mate. My child."

The possessive declarations should anger me. Instead, they send liquid heat flooding between my thighs, my traitorous body responding to his dominance with omega submission I can'tcontrol. My neck tilts without conscious thought, exposing the claiming marks that brand me as his.

"This doesn't change anything," I insist, even as my body contradicts every word.

His mouth captures mine, cutting off my protest with a kiss that devours. His tongue pushes past my lips without hesitation, claiming me in yet another way as his hands grip my hips with bruising force.