“Baby, you’re carrying our eggs. You’re pregnant.”
“What the fuck!”
“I’m sorry. I must be mistaken because I thought I just heard you say that your fucking beastknocked me up.” I’m shouting by the end of my sentence, unable to wrap my head around his announcement. “Becoming mates is one thing. I mean, I can work with that, but me? A mom? I don’t know how to watch a fish, let alone a baby! I killed a goddamn succulent, Caspian. Do you know what that is? Do you know how hard it is to kill asucculent? And you said fucking eggs,plural. What the actual fuck? Eggs, like more than just one. A litter of baby octopus. What do you call a group of octopuses?” I’m babbling now, panic having taken over my mouth.
“Not octopus, kraken,” he replies much too patiently, though he does begin to shrink away when I growl in response and bare my teeth at him. “A family group is called a Kake.”
“I was being sarcastic, you tentacled idiot!” I scream at him, tugging at my own hair in frustration. “I don’t really fucking care at this moment. Except for the fact that you’ve just told me we’re about to become a ready-made one.”
“No, baby, not yet. The when is all up to you,” he coos, trying to make me feel better, but I’m just confused.
“What do you mean ‘not yet’?” I take a shuddering breath in and release it slowly, calming down just enough to hear what he has to say. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still on the edge. On the edge of what, I’m not sure. Hysteria? Fear? Anxiety? An overwhelming sense of doom like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, blindfolded, while wearing impossible to walk in heels after doing one too many shots? Okay, the last one might be a bit dramatic. With one more breath, I try to let the more rational side of me take the lead even though it’s barely rational at all right now.
“Remember, I said the birth process is completely controlled by the mother. You incubate them as long as you need to. They won’t be born until you are ready for them.” Oh. That. I do remember that, though only a man of any species would think that’s a bonus in this situation.
“And walk around like a whale?” I screech at him. “That’s if I can even walk with however many babies you implanted into my stomach.”
“Only three this time... He didn't want to overtax you for your first breed.” Another screech leaves my mouth as I pummel his chest.
“Let me at that over-tentacled idiot. I’ll show himover fucking taxed. Maybe when he feels my foot up his ovi-whatsit, he’ll think twice about knocking me up.”
Caspian grabs my flailing arms and pins them to my side, the contact feeling more comforting than I would ever admit unless under penalty of death. Right now is the time to be angry, not sink into a cuddle. “Baby, the eggs go into hibernation. They won’t grow or get any bigger or do really anything until you say so. When you’re ready, we will give you what you need to start the process. For a month, or however long you choose, you will carry them as they grow in your belly, then you will secrete the hormone to break the eggs down. The babies will just slide out! Much easier than a humanoid birth because they have no skeletal form.”
I blink at him, stunned and possibly horrified. Tentacles goingintomy vagina, well, that’s one thing. A very hot thing that got me into this very situation right now. Tentacles comingoutof my vagina? What the fuck? “Easier... much easier? I’m going to give birth to octopus?”
“Kraken,” he corrects me, and I growl again. “Yes, it is much easier and safer for your body. In either form.”
Trying to hang on to the last shreds of my sanity, I stop my ranting and blink once more. “What do you mean byeither form?”
A pleased smile covers his face. “Now that we’re mated, you should be able to shift just like I do. My beast is very excited to meet yours.”
That’s it. I’m done. I can’t take any more today. I flop backward into the gel matrix, staring up at the lid of the pod.
“Lila?” Caspian’s voice is small, with one emotion coming through too clearly for me to ignore it. He’s scared shitless right now, and doesn’t that make me feel like a dramatic bitch? Sure, yes, I am 100% entitled to my anger right now, but if what he said is true, his beast totally threw him for a loop as well. He wasn’t ready to put himself out there, as both a mate and a future octo-daddy, but now he’s in this situation too. Sighing, I flop my hand out, offering it to him to hold. A deep breath of relief escapes him before he grabs hold and snuggles into my side. If I’m being honest, it actually makes me feel a bit better too.
“I really am sorry. I know none of this was what you thought would happen when I hopped into your capsule tonight.”
I turn my head to look at him. “No, Caspian, I really didn’t, but you’re a fucking sex god and I’m a horny bitch, so I guess we’re a match made in heaven. But you will have to excuse me if I ignore the pregnancy thing for a moment. I need to wrap my head around it all, so let’s just start with the mate angle and then jump back to the whole egg, vagina, tentacles situation. Please don't push me,” I practically beg him, and he nods immediately.
“I promise. I'm just glad you’re not outright rejecting me. I wouldn't know what to do if I had to leave you now.”
Somewhere out in my room, a siren sounds. Oh god, what now? Caspian’s hand comes up to cup my cheek as panic fills me. “That’s the docking siren, meaning in about five minutes, the pod’s going to open up and let us out.”
“Okay, so what happens now?” I ask him, suddenly a little shy. It was all well and good while we were locked away in our little bubble, but now we’re back to reality. Are we telling people, keeping it to ourselves, what? How are the grandpas going to react? I doubt aliens have a version of Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer, but if they did, we’d be a perfect feature for the next episode. I can see it now, an entire special with extended footage, called, “Is that your ovipositor, or are you just happy to see me?”
“Well...” He places a gentle kiss on my lips. “We find your grandpas and ask to be assigned mated quarters.” A wave of relief flows over me as I realize he’s ready to start making this work immediately. It would be easy for him to use my panic as a way to get himself some time to deal with all of this, but he’s not hanging me out to dry. I mean, I know his beast has no second thoughts, but I needed some outward proof that he wasn’t changing his mind now that the real world is closing in on us. “Because I don't want to be away from my mate for one single second if I can help it. Then we can work on your shifts, if you want, or I can show you around the ship. Anything you want.”
“And the babies?” There’s a thud in my chest at saying those words, and my hands come up to cup my little bump. Holy crap, babies. A family of my own.
“Whatever you want to do. We can tell your grandpas, or not. I’ll let you lead. Especially because they’re probably going to kill me anyway.” He moves down and peppers kisses all over my belly, whispering to it, and my heart bursts. Oh my god. I hate insta-love in my stories, but I get it now. Boom! Heart gone. Just like that.
“Is there anything else I need to know?” I ask, almost ready to start holding my breath, and he looks up at me from my belly and winces again.
Rolling my eyes, I give him the get on with it signal. “You might as well tell me.”
“You’re going to be extra… horny, between now and whenever you give birth. It’s the hormones the eggs give off. It’s a survival thing. Lots more can fit in there, so they give it off in the hope that you will want to carry more.”
A lot more can fit in there? Absolutely fucking not.I grab Caspian by his beautiful blue hair and yank him forward. “Let me speak to the beast,” I growl, and Caspian’s eyes instantly blacken as his beast pushes forward. He nuzzles into me, but I yank him back by the hair.
