Kat nodded. She wasn’t sure if she could be so cavalier about walking away from the life she’d so carefully built for the past decade, but seeing her C.O. saying he would sacrifice anything to be with his mate gave her hope.
She realized then that she had unconsciously been rubbing her belly, her hand tracing slow circles on her still-flat stomach. She lifted her hand away immediately as if she’d been burned, and brought her gaze back to Major Ontarii’s face.
He’d caught her movements and had leaned forward, interested.
Kat’s voice was small when she revealed her greatest fear. “What about…what about the child? It would be neither human nor Zantharian. As you know, sentiment on our planet toward humans is not exactly positive at the moment.”
Major Ontarii’s expression grew dark. “I’m well aware. I barely got Brook to her ship’s docking bay today without strangling someone. Those idiots with their “Zanthar for Zantharian” signs and their stupid protest chants, they certainly represent a challenge.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “These are difficult times, Kat’Chinna, but they won’t last forever. We’ll rout out the Hareema infiltrators and move to establish peaceful relations with Earth. That will calm down the bulk of the protestors.”
“You can’t please everyone,” Kat said softly.
“You’re right,” he replied. “But why worry about pleasing everyone? Please yourself for once. If you love Lieutenant Brunt, if he’s worth fighting for, then strap on your battle armor and be the warrior I know that you are.”
“And if a baby results from your union,” he said, tiny wrinkles appearing in the corner of his eyes as his smile widened, “then I pity any fool that dares to insult your child.”
Kat laughed. It was the first time she’d done so since she’d parted company with Jeffrey. It felt good.
“Thank you, Thrak’Lin,” she said, using his given name for the first time. “I appreciate your advice.”
He stood, walked to her chair and pulled her out of it. He held her in a loose embrace, and for a moment Kat wanted to cry.
“You’ve never been one to give up without a fight,” he said. “Don’t let me down now.”
As she left the briefing room for a much-needed, and major-ordered, nap, tears slid down her cheeks. Although it felt good to talk to someone about her dilemma, she still hadn’t resolved her feelings.
Did she risk everything for love? Could she build a life with someone who was vastly different from herself?
And what about the child?
A life could be growing inside her right now, one that was half Zantharian and half human.
In the heat of the moment, she’d decided to use her single chance to conceive with Jeffrey. She didn’t regret it, even if she thought it was likely foolish.
Chances are, human and Zantharian DNA are not compatible enough for inter-species breeding.
Still, she kept her hand on her stomach, wondering if she would soon be a mother to the child of the man she loved.
And if she were pregnant, should she tell him? Or should she let him return to Earth to forget about her?
Kat couldn’t answer those questions, not now, not with tears streaming down her face and exhaustion making her feel weak.
The only thing she was sure of at the moment was, if she did have Jeffrey’s baby, she hoped it had his lovely deep blue eyes.
