Page 92 of Ruthlessly Mated

I am still looking at the little creatures that are living inside me, teetering on the brink of lives yet to be lived. It’s the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced and it makes everything that ever happened to me feel more important than ever, and somehow not important at all.

“There’s a lot to think about,” Mandy says. “Do you have any questions? We should talk about nutrition, vitamins, birth plans.”

“Birth plans?” The words burst out of me. “I might be pregnant, but I’m not going to give birth.”

“How else are they going to come out?”

“Well, maybe they can make their own arrangements. They have months to decide.”

Mandy smiles. “We can talk about this later. You probably need to talk to your mates and think about this.”

“Yes. I probably do.” I keep staring at the machine.

“Do you want a picture? I can print it off so you can look whenever you like.”

“Oh. Yes, please.”

I don’t want her to turn the monitor off. I want to watch them forever. I want to see what they’re doing. Once she turns it off, Iwon’t know what they’re up to anymore. I won’t get to see them growing. It’s truly magical to see them.

They look like they’re holding hands. Two little guys just living their best little guy lives.

I have to go home.

I have to tell my mates.

I go home.

I don’t tell my mates.

I don’t know why. I’m not ready for it to be all the way real. I’m not ready for Conroy to have a whole lot more rules and Tailor to start furnishing a nursery and Damon to—well, I don’t think Damon is going to be any different, but you never know.

I want everything to be the same for a bit. I want to be just myself for just a little longer…

CHAPTER 20

Tailor

I walk into the house one afternoon and realize that something has forever changed. I can’t say what it is that tips me off. Is it a different scent? Maybe? A mood, perhaps. The seasons are changing. Winter is coming to an end and spring is causing flowers to bloom and the days to become longer, and spirits to rise. The port is well on the way to being rebuilt. Some of the smugglers are already coming through, but using tents and temporary structures now that the docks are back in place. Coastwood is seeing an increase in business again, which is making the locals happy. I have been down looking at new fabrics for the upholstery I have planned.

I find Conroy sitting in the kitchen with an empty plate full of crumbs in front of him. He has a strange expression on his face, as if something entirely unexpected has befuddled him. It transforms his features in a way I have never seen before.

“What’s going on?”

He turns his head to me slowly.

“She bit me.”

“You mean she shifted and bit you? Accidentally? She got riled up in her animal self?”

“No. I mean she just bit me. For no reason. Really hard. And then she took a cake upstairs and she’s eating it in bed.”

He looks befuddled, as if he doesn’t know what to do about any of it. That’s the strange part. Conroy has never been shy about handling Kita. He’s arguably the most aggressive of us all when it comes to laying down the law. So finding him here, staring at an empty cake plate is very odd.

“Why didn’t you just discipline her?”

“You go in that room and tell me if you want to discipline her.”

I go up to see Kita. I am expecting her to look sheepish after the behavior, plus she knows that she is not allowed to disrespect us. I made that very clear not all that long ago. Conroy might be backing down for some reason that makes no sense, but I don’t intend to.