Page 41 of His to Mate

She wasn’t sure why she was so afraid, but for some reason, now that the moment was here, she was terrified of how he’d react. She knew the ultimate goal for the aliens was to reproduce, and they’d taken no precautions to prevent it from happening, but was it possible he would be unhappy about a baby?

“Did you now?” He went still, his eyes on hers. He didn’t move, his eyes didn’t go wide, in fact, they narrowed a little. “And what did you find out, Ann?”

“That I’m going to have your baby, Rager.” She stated it bluntly, the way he did things. She examined everything about him again, waited for the glee, the joy she’d hoped for, but he just sat there.

A long moment passed, he didn’t blink, he didn’t say anything, he didn’t move. She wasn’t even sure he breathed for a long time. Then he did all of those things and leaned towards her, a smile in place.

“That’s good news. Our child shall have an honorable place in the world, with a respectable line of descent. It will have a lot of duties to fulfill, and I hope the child brings us honor and hope, as I have tried to do in my life.”

“Oh. Good.” She frowned, completely disappointed, but unsure if she should show it. “I’m glad you’re, well…”

“Shall we eat now? I’m rather hungry and I’d like to spend some time examining how that dress feels beneath my hands.”

She nodded, let her head fall to hide her face, and tried to blink tears away. That was it? Some trite shit about honor and duty, and the baby’s ancestors? The sole purpose of them being mated was to produce children, why wasn’t he more excited? Was he not ready for children? He had been forced into the situation as much as she had, she could see now. Maybe he didn’t want to have children.

Or maybe it was her he didn’t really want to have children with. Maybe he agreed with those soldiers of his. Perhaps that was why he’d spent so many nights away from her. Maybe he was as disgusted by her as those men were?

“Ann? Are you alright?” Rager asked and took her hand. His face was concerned, so she picked her head up and smiled.

“I’m fine. I do have some questions about safety. I’ve heard about the men that want you to mate with a woman of your own kind. That they want to overthrow you since you haven’t cast me aside.”

“I’m dealing with that, don’t worry. You and our baby will be safe. You just concentrate on taking care of yourself. And being delicious as you are right now.”

“Okay. But I’ve heard about some of your soldiers joining forces with the wolves that want to revolt…”

He sighed deeply and took both of her hands. “Now, Ann, you can’t listen to these rumors. They will drive you crazy. You have to know I am doing all I can to keep you safe. You are my mate, nothing can change that. Not some werewolves that want to rule the world, and not my men that can’t keep their heads on straight. I will always protect you, even when I’m not here. There are people here that will keep you safe.”

“Okay.” She nodded her head and smiled at him. “I just want to be sure you know about all of this stuff. I keep seeing that stupid insignia on everything. It makes me worry.”

“That wolf graffiti? That’s some women’s organization, trying to keep the men of your world in check. At least they have some sense. As do you, I’ve noticed. You’ve taken the bull by the horns as well and have organized quite a lot. You make me proud to call you mate, I don’t care what anyone might have to say about it. Excuse me.” A knock at the door interrupted him and he went to bring in the trolley that held all of the food she’d ordered for their dinner.

She still had them on a vegetarian diet and had started to think maybe she would keep it that way. He didn’t complain and ate plenty of whatever she had prepared for them. Tonight it was a Greek version of a casserole she’d found in a recipe book, filled with all sorts of lovely things. They ate slowly, and Rager told her about the things he’d been doing.

There was another bunker full of people that they’d tried to rescue, but it was underwater in Louisiana. It was proving hard to get to the people because the water would flood the bunker if they opened it.

“Why don’t you put something around the opening, drain the water out, and have them climb up?” She offered when he went quiet.

He looked up at her suggestion, ready to dismiss it she could see, but then he thought about it a little more. “That is not a bad idea, Ann. Not bad at all.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, pleased at the compliment. “I’m not just a pretty face.”

She’d meant it in a comedic way, to make him laugh, but he nodded his head very seriously, in total agreement.

“You’re not just a pretty face, you’re a beautiful face, and quite intelligent too.” He did something with his phone, typed a few things in, and then looked up at her. “And what’s for dessert?”

There was chocolate cake, made with cocoa powder she’d scavenged. It had been hard as a rock, the powder, but the cook had grated it, and pounded it with a hammer until it was a powder again. It was nice, and the frosting made her eyes close it was so buttery and good. The hint of vanilla was from dried vanilla beans and some imitation vanilla sugar she’d found.

“That is amazing,” Rager said, his face a mask of pleasure. “I haven’t tasted anything like that before.”

“It’s a simple cake, something you’d make for a kid’s birthday party or something, but yeah, it is really good.”

“I think your world is full of delights I’ve yet to discover. But the main thing I want to discover all over again tonight is you, Ann.”

“I hope you find it as you remember it.” She gave him a sultry smile and put the last bite of cake into her mouth. She pulled the fork from between her lips slowly when she saw his gaze was on her pursed lips.

“I’m sure it’s even better than I remember, Ann. You are incredible, after all.”

She knew she wasn’t a supermodel, or even as beautiful as he claimed she was, but he made her feel as if she was. She smiled at him again, and took his hand. The sun had started to go down, and Katy had learned to climb down the stairs the workers had put in at the end of the balcony. They had nowhere else to be, but right here with each other.