“If he does not, we will threaten their Clan with war,” Varus replies with a slight clench of his jaw. He turns to the ambassador. “Will you deliver our message?”
He bows low. “Yes, my prince. At once.”
My eyes follow him out the door, praying that Raidyn listens to reason and allows us to see Skye. I miss my best friend. She’s like a sister to me and I just want to talk to her, to know for sure that she’s all right. I remember how scared I was initially of Varus in his draka form. At least, I got to know his humanoid form first before realizing he could shift.
But Skye was taken by a draka—that must have been terrifying. To top it off, she didn’t have a translator chip, so even when he shifted back into a man, she wouldn’t have been able to understand him.
Varus explained that the only reason I could understand him when he touched me was because I was his fated mate. So, if Skye is not fated to Raidyn, she would not have any idea what he was saying to her without a translator chip.
The sun hangs low in the sky as I step out onto the balcony, thinking of my friend. Hoping and praying I’ll see her again soon.
Varus’s warm hands on my shoulders draw my attention to him as he pulls me back against his chest. He wraps his arms around my waist and drops his chin to the curve of my neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply.
“Your scent,” he whispers. “It is stronger somehow. More intoxicating. It calls to me more and more lately and I wonder why.”
A faint smile curves my lips; I think I have the answer. I turn in his embrace and wind my arms around his neck. Stretching onto my toes, I press my lips to his then whisper against them. “It’s because we’re going to have a baby.”
His brow furrows softly. “Baby?”
“A fledgling,” I correct.
His mouth curves in a devastatingly handsome smile as his green eyes seem to dance with joy. He crushes his lips to mine in a searing kiss. When he pulls back, his gaze searches mine. “How do you know? Are you certain?”
I grin. “Yes. I went to see Healer Ranas this morning.”
Although I’d been assured by the same Healer not long before that natural conception would be improbable between us without medical intervention, I’m not upset in the slightest. In fact, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
Varus lifts me into his arms and spins me around. He presses his lips again to mine while walking us toward the bed. It’s no wonder we conceived a child so early in our relationship; he is completely insatiable. We make love several times each night and often during the day as well. He says he’s addicted to touching me and I can’t complain because I feel the same way about him.
Carefully, he tucks me beneath the comforter and crawls in beside me. He pulls me into his arms, rolling us so I’m straddling his hips. He dips his hands beneath the hem of my robe and slides it off my shoulders, baring me to his gaze. Gently, he traces the tips of his fingers down my abdomen and then places his open palm directly over my womb.
“A fledgling,” he murmurs, his voice filled with wonder. A smile crests his lips when he lifts his gaze to mine. “I am happy beyond words, my beautiful linaya.”
“Me too. Healer Ranas said we will have to check in with him daily to make sure everything is progressing soundly, but there shouldn’t be any reason for worry.”
I trail the tips of my fingers along the muscles of his abdomen and chest, guiding his hand to my left breast. I move my hips against his and he inhales sharply before he grips my waist firmly and stills.
I frown. “What’s wrong?”
His brow wrinkles in confusion. “You wish to mate before you nest?”
“Nest?”
He nods. “Yes, to lay the egg. Drakarian females refuse to mate until after they have laid their egg.”
A soft laugh escapes me. “There won’t be any egg.”
He cocks his head to the side.
“My people carry their young until they’re born, remember?”
“Yes, but since the child is mine, I thought that—”
I shake my head to cut him off. “Ranas said I will carry our fledgling to term in my womb. He doesn’t suspect that I will go over your species’ six moon cycle. However, since our baby is the first Drakarian hybrid, he’s not entirely sure.”
His expression dims slightly, and he carefully crawls out from under me. He wraps his arms around my waist and tugs me close, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead before gently moving away. “Of course. I vow that I will not pressure you into a mating. We will wait until after our fledgling is born. My vow.”
My mouth drifts open and I shake my head again. “Humans aren’t like Drakarian females, Varus. We can mate for almost the entire time that we’re carrying a baby.”
His brows shoot up to his forehead. “You speak truth?”
I nod.
He lunges for me and before I know it, my head hits the pillow. He rolls me onto my back, moving so fast I barely have time to catch my breath as he captures my mouth in a searing kiss.
I shift slightly beneath him to cradle his hips between my thighs. A soft moan escapes me as he runs his hand down my body to cup my left breast. When his stav enters my channel, he groans low in his throat, fixing me with a possessive gaze.
“You are mine,” he growls. “My beautiful and perfect mate.”
He strokes long and deep inside me. As his shining green eyes stare deep into mine, that’s exactly how he makes me feel—like I am
