Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Well, they were kind of confused at first—like why was Grath proposing again when he’d already done it at the Yule Ball? But then, when we admitted that we’d been faking our relationship up until then, they finally understood.” She shrugged. “So I’m afraid we failed our test—which is what Grath is telling Commander Sylvan right now. So we can’t go to Vi’ri’tex Delta after all.”
“Oh, but I’m sure Sylvan will forgive you for letting your family know in the end,” Sophie protested. “I’m positive he’ll still let you go.”
“Even if he would, we still can’t,” Mattie told her. “Because Vi’ri’tex Delta is so far away and there are no viable worm holes to get there. So you can only go by folding space.”
“Oh, of course—that’s a problem because after your bonding night, you still don’t know if you’re pregnant or not,” Sophie nodded. “But you know, they have rapid pregnancy tests now. If you want, I’ll have my sister Liv set one up for you.”
“That would be nice,” Mattie said. “But just to tell me what sex the baby is—and if there’s more than one. See, Grath and I had kind of a special experience that sometimes happens with someone of his heritage when they bond with a female.” She could feel herself blushing as she talked. “It’s called a, uh, ‘deep breeding’ and it’s guaranteed to get you pregnant,” she added, almost in a whisper.
“Oh my!” Sophie put a hand to her mouth. “Well then—I’m afraid you’ll be out of commission for a while. You’re right—you and Grath can’t go to Vi’ri’tex Delta.”
“I don’t mind,” Mattie said, smiling. “I thought I wanted that mission so much but honestly, what I wanted was a way to test myself—to see how much I could handle. But after what happened down in Christmasville, I honestly feel I’ve been tested enough.”
“My goodness, I would definitely agree with you there!” Sophie exclaimed.
“So for now, I’ll be happy if Grath and I are just assigned Class 1 planets that are close enough to get to by wormhole,” Mattie said. “Er…as long as Commander Sylvan allows it.”
“Don’t you worry about that.” Sophie patted her hand. “The Kindred don’t discriminate against pregnant people. If you want to work, you get to work. If you’d rather stay home and take time for yourself—well, that’s okay too and you still get your full pay. Plus we have free healthcare up here on the Mother Ship—the best you can get. You’re going to have a beautiful pregnancy, just wait and see.”
“Thank you!” Mattie felt tears of gratitude pricking her eyes and had to sniff hard to control them. “I’m so happy I came to work for the Kindred! If I hadn’t, I never would have met you or Commander Sylvan—or Grath! And I certainly wouldn’t be bonded now with a baby on the way.”
“And to think just a few days ago you were complaining about him to me and saying you wished you could get another Protector!” Sophie teased her gently, her eyes dancing.
“Don’t remind me!” Mattie laughed and elbowed her friend. “I can’t believe how wrong I was!” She narrowed her eyes at Sophie. “Hey, did you have any idea when you suggested that Grath and I fake-date for my parents that this would happen? I mean, that we’d end up together?”
Sophie laughed.
“Well…maybe. You know, the opposite of love isn’t hate—it’s indifference. And you and Grath were never indifferent to each other. You got on each other’s nerves so much, I was sure there had to be something between you.”
“You were right,” Mattie admitted, laughing. “There definitely was—is something between us. We can’t keep our hands off each other!”
She and Sophie went into another fit of giggles and then she heard a deep voice inside her head.
“Hey, what’s so funny, baby?”
“Oh, nothing—just talking with Sophie,” she sent back to Grath and made a silent motion to Sophie, letting her know she was having a mental conversation with her mate. “Did you explain everything to Commander Sylvan?”
“Sure did—we’re going to be assigned to Class 1 planets until after you give birth.”
“That’s just what I hoped for!” Mattie exclaimed. “And speaking of that, Sophie says she can get me set up with an early pregnancy test so we can find out the sex of the baby.”
“Better hold off on that for a little while,” Grath sent, surprising her.
“What? But why? Don’t you want to know?”
“Yeah, but first I want to see if I can plant another baby inside you,” he growled through their link. “We should probably wait until I finish breeding you—then we can find out the sexes of all the babies at once.”
“Grath, you’re so bad!” Mattie sent back, laughing, but she got the definite sense that the big Hybrid was only halfway kidding. There was a hunger behind his words—a deep desire that she felt too.