I let out a deep sigh, soaking in the feeling, in the soft purring.
"I never believed this was possible," I whisper. "I didn’t allow myself to imagine a scenario like this, Eliano. Even whenI came here, it was just a fairy tale spun by the Beta Activation people."
The purring fades.
"Did you ever want children?"
My voice breaks a little. "I never had anything against kids, I secretly watched them, never daring to dream, but my life just wasn’t going in that direction. I always knew who I was, just a beta. And for us, the odds are so small that anything like this would ever happen, so I never built hope around it or even prepared myself mentally."
Eliano is silent for a while.
"Well, I guess I always had this in the back of my head, I somewhat suspected we were fated. And with beta-alpha pairs, the beta shifts into a beta with omega characteristics, which means they can have children."
I make a small snort. "For me, it was different. I trulydid notbelieve we were True Mates, Eliano. I could not wrap my head around it. What were the odds? For beta-alpha pairs, it’s a tenth of a percent. Hoping for it felt insane."
"So… how do you feel about it now, Salt? What’s going through your mind? Tell me everything," Eliano whispers.
His hands gently stroke the back of my head.
A desperate chuckle escapes me.
"I’m horrible parent material, I had brain damage, Eliano, my impulse control—"
"That won’t be an issue. You will regenerate. TMs, remember?"
Reluctantly, I pull my face away from his shoulder and look him in the eyes. His are attentive, locked on me, and full of hope.
Twenty-five days… every moment, I’ve yearned for him.
For some reason, I feel my lips curl into a slight smile. Gosh, he’s so handsome. Our kid would be a looker for sure, but more importantly, he would be…mine.
This sudden vision comes. Senu’s face. He used to be my everything. Was. Could I love someone else as much as I loved him? The child would be my own flesh and blood…
"I don’t have anyone, you know?" I say slowly, seriously. "I only have you. I don’t count my half brothers on my father’s side; they are strangers to me. So the only family I might ever have is the one I give birth to myself. So part of me is…happy, but another part immediately starts thinking about what happens when the BA people find out."
There is a short pause; Eliano frowns.
"Where will we go, Eliano? Where will we live? They won’t let us stay on the island; there’s no place here for expectant couples. And outside, it might not be safe for a kid, because of… your brother, Rocco."
Eliano frowns slightly and turns his face to the side. "You’re right about Rocco. He’s… a real threat."
An incredibly heavy silence fills the room. Something in his body, some tension, tells me I should dig deeper, right in this direction.
"Where did that cut on your cheek come from, Eliano?"
He lets out an impatient snort and looks away, but he says nothing, only the muscles in his jaw twitching.
"Eliano, talk to me."
"Something happened, but we’re still safe on the island."
"You’re scaring me, Eliano. The pregnant couples are removed from the Beta Activation program and… from the island."
"But that does not mean there are no other options."
There’s a brief silence, and then Eliano says firmly,
"Let me think this through calmly."
