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The moonlight reflected through the windshield, giving her skin the most beautiful ethereal glow.

The car had been quiet—but not the comfortable silence I’d grown used to. Something was off.

She shifted beside me, her fingers still toying with the hem of her dress.

"Come on, kitten, tell me what's wrong. I can't fix it if you don't tell me. You're not worried about having dinnerwith my brothers, are you? I know they can be a pain in the ass, but they aren't that bad if you're drunk."

My joke fell flat.

I wasn't sure she even heard it. And then it didn't matter whether she did or not.

She blurted out, “I think I’m pregnant!”

I blinked, stunned, the words slamming into my chest like bullets.

Pregnant.

My foot left the gas for the brake as I pulled over to the shoulder, cutting across the lane with a hard jerk of the wheel. The city had already fallen away behind us—we were on a stretch of highway flanked by dark forest, the compound still miles ahead.

The engine idled low, headlights catching on the guardrail as I shifted into Park and turned to her.

Trying to process what she just said, for several long seconds, I couldn’t speak. I could only stare at her—absorbing that she was not just the woman I loved, but the mother of my child.

She started rambling, her voice rushed and cracking:

“I already love this baby more than my own life and if you don’t want her, that’s fine, I’ll raise her on my own like my grandmother raised me and I don’t need you even though with every pulse of blood in my veins all I want is to be by your side until my dying breath and?—”

I cut her off with a kiss so hard it made her gasp.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” I whispered as I cupped her cheek. “I want you to stare right into my eyes so you know I’m telling you the truth when I say that I think you are the strongest, kindest, most beautiful woman I haveever known. I love you more than a crude brute like me could ever possibly express.”

My mind raced with worry.

What if she didn’t want to hear it?

What if she didn’t feel the same way?

It didn't matter. She needed to know, and I needed to tell her.

The words left my lips before I could stop them.

And they were true.

I loved her.

The only reason I hadn't already said them—roared them from the rooftops until the entire world knew how protected she was—was because I didn't want to scare her.

Alina gasped softly. A single tear ran down her cheek.

I leaned in and kissed it away.

She blinked as more tears welled. “Really? You love me? Truly?”

“Of course, I love you. You’re my sweet little kitten.”

She swallowed, looking almost afraid to ask. “And the baby?”

My hand splayed over her stomach. “I didn’t think you could make me any happier than I already was… but damn, woman… you still surprise me.” I kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear. “I couldn’t be happier about the baby.”