“Pregnant?”He swallowed, certain his hearing deceived him.
She sighed.“Yes.”
“You…pregnant?”
“Yes,” she snapped, her chin lifting in challenge.“And before you ask, Mogens is sure.”
Panic, like he’d never felt before, blasted through him.Thoughts roared through his head, and his feline took over.Flight.He traveled halfway down the corridor before his humanoid self thought better of the action.
Unwilling footsteps took him back, and he found Gweneth curled up on her gel-seat, silent tears running down her cheeks.
Something twisted inside him.She was his mate.He knew this even as he knew that tying herself to him wasn’t her best option.
“We’re having a kitten?”Even in his state of shock, he didn’t doubt her words as truth.If she expected a child, then he was the father.
“Yes.”
“All right.What do you want me to do?”
Her mouth tightened.“You don’t have to do anything.I just thought you should know.”
“Gweneth, I’m no catch.I’d be loyal.I’d love you and our kitten, but I could never hold them.Not safely.”
“I don’t want you to take responsibility for me and our kitten because you feel guilty.I need love like Camryn and Jannike have.I won’t settle for less.”
“I understand.Let me help you as a friend.”
“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.Ellard, you don’t understand.I love you.I have loved you since I first saw you.When I look at you, I don’t see a handicap.I see a strong, loyal man who would do anything for his friends.I don’t want you to commit to me because you think it is the right thing to do.I deserve a male who loves me without reservation.If I say yes to you now, what is to stop you from changing your mind later?We wouldn’t be proper mates.Nothing would hold us together.”
“Our kitten would—”
“No.I won’t allow my child to be put in that position.”
“Our child,” Ellard countered.“Nothing has changed since we were on Narenda.”
“Not true.”Gweneth faced him without flinching.“You rejected me.I’m telling you about my pregnancy because it’s the right thing to do.You should know you’re going to be a father.”
Ellard stared at her, attempting to read her mind.Despite engaging his feline senses, he discovered nothing of use, no clue as to how he could fix this breach between them.
“You should go now,” Gweneth said.
Ellard stared at her for a fraction longer and realized he needed to regroup.Nothing he said now would help the situation, one of his own making he had to admit.She needed time.He needed time.
“Com me if you need anything.”
“I don’t need you.”
“Com me,” he insisted.
After a brief pause, she gave a grudging nod.
“Thank you.”Ellard turned away, confident she would com him, but the knowledge didn’t halt the turmoil rising in his gut.His feline snarled, the cry of displeasure echoing through his head.
Mate.Mate.Mate.
The word, the thought repeated over and over until he wanted to growl and roar at the accompanying pain.This wasn’t how he’d imagined this meeting.Ellard headed along the corridor, flinching at the close of the door behind him.It sounded like a full stop on the problem.Pregnant.He was going to be a father.Dizziness assailed him, his stomach pitching as shock did a dance through his mind yet again.A father.
Without knowing how he got there, he found himself in the rear garden, striding amongst the formal floral beds toward the stand of trees at the rear.The clash of swords came from the practice area, and Ellard headed in that direction.Lynx and Ry practicing together.Shiloh stood watching and offering words of encouragement to both feline shifters.
