"A small one."
Fear replaces joy, cold and paralyzing. What if he reacts badly? What if he doesn't want this child?
"I can't tell him yet," I decide. "Not until I'm certain he'll accept it. This child is too precious to risk."
Ivy nods. "Then we'll need to shield the pregnancy from the bond. Hide it until you're ready to tell him."
"Can you do that?" I ask. "Hide it from an Alpha? From a completed fated bond?"
"The concealment will mask your pregnancy scent," Ivy explains, her hands already beginning to glow with silver light. "Block the hormone changes from traveling through your bond. But it's temporary, Sera. Your body will change—your hips widening, breasts swelling, belly growing. I can hide scent and bond signals for maybe six weeks. Two months if we're lucky and you don't show too early."
She meets my eyes seriously. "After that, no magic in any realm can hide an Omega's pregnancy from her Alpha. His nose will detect it. His instincts will know. The bond will sing with the presence of his child."
I nod, accepting the limitations. Six weeks. Time enough to prepare, to understand my own feelings, to find the right moment to tell Malakai that he's going to be a father again.
"Do it," I say firmly. "Shield the pregnancy."
"It's a simple enchantment—targeted, focused," Ivy assures me as her magic intensifies. "It will shield only the pregnancy, leaving the rest of your connection intact. He won't sense anything unusual, just the emotions you choose to share. Your scent will read as normal to his Alpha nose."
Relief washes over me. "Thank you, Ivy. For everything."
She waves away my gratitude with characteristic dismissiveness, though her eyes remain suspiciously bright. "Just don't name the baby after me without permission. 'Ivy' is trademarked in seven magical realms, and the paperwork for Ivy rights is a nightmare."
I laugh again, the sound lighter than it's been in weeks. Despite the uncertainty ahead, despite the danger and complications, a fierce joy burns within me.
I close my eyes as Ivy's magic washes over me, cool and gentle like spring rain. The enchantment settles around my abdomen, a protective cocoon that will shield my secret until I'm ready to share it.
And somewhere deep inside, a tiny spark of life—shadow and light combined, Alpha and Omega unified—grows stronger with each passing moment.
A twilight child.
The prophecy made flesh.
My baby.
CHAPTER 30
SHADOW AND LIGHT
MALAKAI
HER SKIN GLOWS like amber in the morning light. I've been awake for hours, watching Seraphina sleep, transfixed by the rise and fall of her chest. A hunger gnaws at me, insatiable and merciless.
My shadows ease the sheet down, exposing her naked body inch by tantalizing inch. Her nipples are still red from last night's attention, small bruises blooming across her golden skin. I lick my lips, cock hardening at the memory of her writhing beneath me, crying my name as I claimed her again and again.
One shadow tendril slips between her breasts, circling a nipple until it hardens. Another slides across her stomach, dipping into her navel, teasing lower. Her breathing changes, but she doesn't wake. Her scent shifts slightly—sweeter than usual, richer somehow, though I attribute it to our night together.
I lower my head, inhaling her scent—vanilla and sweetness and something uniquely hers that drives me to madness. My tongue traces the curve of her breast, tasting salt and sweetness. I take her nipple between my teeth, rolling it, sucking hard enough to make her whimper in her sleep.
Not yet. First, I want to taste my mate.
My mouth travels lower, leaving a trail of bites and kisses across her ribs, her stomach, the jutting bones of her hips. My shadows hold her thighs apart as I settle between them, mouth watering at the sight of her slick folds, still glistening with evidence of our night together.
"Fuck," I breathe against her inner thigh. The need to possess her, to mark her, to consume her entirely overwhelms rational thought.
I press my open mouth against her center, groaning at the taste of us mingled together. My tongue delves deep, gathering her sweetness, my shadows pinning her hips when she stirs. The power of having her like this—unconscious, vulnerable, completely mine—is intoxicating.
Her clit heats under my tongue. I suck the sensitive bud between my lips, two fingers sliding easily into her wetness, curling to find that spot that always makes her back arch. Her walls grip my fingers, silken heat that makes my cock leak with anticipation.
