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"You are carrying my child."

"I'm pregnant, not terminally ill."

"You are not to climb stairs alone."

My mouth dropped open. "Viking."

"No leaving the property."

"Viking!"

"We're moving Kosta inside the room."

"Absolutely not."

"Two changelings during daylight."

"I already have two changelings."

"Then four."

I shoved his chest. "There it is! I knew it!"

He caught my wrists and kissed me before I could continue yelling. I fought the smile trying to escape. He pulled back just enough to speak against my lips.

"I will protect you."

"I know."

"And our child."

"I know."

"With everything I am." That silenced me because I felt it, not as a threat but as a vow.

I touched his cheek. "Then protect yourself too." His brow furrowed. "For us." That hit him, hard. I saw it. All month, Viking had been throwing himself at danger because he thought his only purpose was keeping me safe, but now there was more, now there was a future he needed to survive for.

His hand covered mine against his face. Slowly, he nodded. "For you."

"And the sesame seed."

His lips twitched. "And the sesame seed." Then he lowered his head until our foreheads touched. For a long time, we simply stood there. There was no war, no bullets, no blood, no enemies just us. Three of us. And for the first time since I had met Viking Dragic, the bond between us felt completely still.

There was no rage, no panic, no berserker clawing at the edges. There was only love, a deep, steady and certain love. His hand spread carefully over my stomach. "My mate," he whispered. Then his eyes lifted to mine, filled with something so tender it made my heart ache. "My child." He kissed me softly. "My whole world."

And that was the moment I knew. Whatever came next, whatever monsters were waiting outside these walls, whatever war Ceasar or Malakai thought they were bringing to our door...They would have to get through all of us because dangerous men might build empires but women like us gave them something worth coming home from war for.

Chapter 15

Two weeks after finding out I was going to be a father; I discovered something important about pregnancy. It apparently made my mate fucking unreasonable. “Get back into bed.”

“No.” I stared at Bryn but she stared back.

“Bryn.”

“Viking.”

“Bed.”