Page 52 of Hidden

He searched my face before the grief faded from his expression. He tilted his head, and a nervous sweat broke out over my skin.

There was no way to avoid the inevitable question.

And sure enough, after a second, there it was. “Why do you think that?”

I couldn’t lie, this was his future too, and he was being so honest. He deserved to know.

I forced myself to focus. If only for a little while longer. I could give in to my panic later.

“The prophecy says you’ll have children,” I whispered. “I can’t do that.”

A family was something I’d always wanted. I dreamed about it my whole life. It was the same dream that Damen had told me not long ago. But in my dream, I would adopt.

Biological children weren’t in my future.

Titus didn’t show much of a reaction to my admission—he only raised his eyebrows.

My heart was breaking. Did he not understand? “Titus…”

“I don’t care,” he said, his expression calculating. “I only care about how I feel. It’s you. It’s alwaysbeenyou, in different ways. In different lives. For you to have been born into this form leaves no question.”

Titus had never looked so intense before, and it was suffocating. The weight of responsibility pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe. “But the prophecy…”

“I told you I don’t believe in that nonsense,” Titus said, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “All I care about is what you want, and if you don’t want—”

“That’s not what I’m saying! Idowant children!” I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “I don’t think Icanhave them.” It was very important that he understand this. Although the fact we were discussing this topic at all was beyond horrifying.

In order to have children, you’d need to have sex, and, well…

“You don’tthink?” Titus frowned, confusion glittering in his eyes.

My face burned, and I gripped his shirt, twisting the fabric. My world was falling apart around me. “I’ve never been… normal. And lots of things happened. I never…”

My admission seemed to confound him further, and his frown deepened. “Dr. Kohler told you this?”

I swallowed—my mouth was so dry.

“I never told her.” I spoke in almost a whisper. “And I might have lied to her during my physicals. So she never checked.” The look he gave me made me feel guilty. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t lie about your health,” Titus said, his gaze narrowing on mine. “Not anymore.”

My throat closed. “But everyone tries to make me do things I don’t want—”

Titus cut off my protest, pressing his thumb against my mouth. “They won’t. Not anymore.” He sounded so certain. “Bryce won’t let them, and he is a formidable opponent. But if he doesn’t do anything, I’ll stop itandrip his head off.”

But I didn’t want Bryce’s head to be ripped off! He needed to teach me how to defeat poison. Then maybe we could bond as siblings or something. “But what if—”

“And if people still disrespect your wishes, I’ll take you somewhere no one can bother you,” he said, his thumb slid over my lip before he cupped my cheek. “Hiding from the council is a last resort. It would be a life of secrecy. But you wouldn’t be alone. Now that I’ve found you, no one will be taking you away again.”

I wasn’t sure what to say about that, but it sounded almost romantic. Distantly, my mind kept going back to the central point of this conversation. “I’m your mate…”

Titus blinked, pressing his forehead against mine. “Yes.”

Then there was something I needed to know. “You’re not going to bite me, are you?”

His face jerked back, and he gazed at me in surprise. “What?”

“Am I going to be maimed? Or do I get a mate tattoo?” I tried to recall my shifter romance stories. “How does marking, or claiming, or whatever work?”