Page 49 of Forced Vampire Mate

Luken washed us both with the store of water, then helped me dress. I sighed in disappointment as he covered himself, but smiled when he pulled me back into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder as we lay together, cuddling.

“Will I have as much stamina as you when I’m fully vampire?” I asked. For once, the idea didn’t fill me with dread.

Luken chuckled into my rumpled hair. “That’s a dangerous idea, isn’t it? We might never stop. Who will run the kingdom if we’re always… busy?”

“Marissa can,” I said flippantly.

I buried my face in Luken’s shirt. The warmth that spread through me was more than just the physical relaxation of sex. It was more than a pleasure. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I didn’t hate Luken Holakas. I never had. I loved him.

And I always would.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him. “I know it can’t be easy for you, with… me. I’m not what you wanted your mate to be, am I?”

Luken ran his fingers down his spine. “That’s where you’re wrong. It’s the circumstances I wish were different. You are exactly what I wanted. I wish I had protected you better. I wish that I could have spared you all the pain you’ve been through. And I hate that I’m the reason for your pain.”

I pushed myself to my elbow. “Are you really?”

“If you weren’t my mate—”

“Shhh.” I put my finger on his lips. “Were you the one who killed my family? Were you the one who sent Darcie to the temples? Were you the one who thought up the Blood Trials? No. It’s the gods. Everything… even what Draven has done, it’s not because of you, Luken. It’s because of them.”

Luken sighed heavily. “When you say it like that, it makes sense.”

I grinned. “I can be pretty smart, you know.”

Laughing, he kissed my swollen lips. His smile died quickly. “There’s something else you should know before we continue.”

I rested my chin on his chest. “Mmm, you’re serious. What’s this about what?” I teased.

Luken pressed his lips together. “I have no real way to prove it. But I think you might be pregnant.”

“What?” I bolted upright, heart pounding. “What? No! I’m not ready to be pregnant. Gods—” Ice washed through me. I’d been feeling sick more often. I thought it was just stress. But if I was pregnant… “Oh, Gods! That means I’ll be a mother. I’m going to fuck it up. I shouldn’t be a mother. You can’t trust me to take care of a kid!”

Luken pushed himself into a sitting position and took my hands in his. “Elara, breathe. I don’t know for sure.”

“What makes you think I’m pregnant?” I demanded.

“The way the revelation spell was acting, for one. It reacts to living organisms, but is designed to ignore the functions of the normal microbes that exist in a body. But the way it changed color when you were in it indicated there was something else in with you. Your scent has changed, too. Subtly, but it’s still changed. I don’t know any spells that can confirm it.”

I trembled, both my hands pressed to my stomach. I wanted kids eventually, but not when we were about to come up against the gods! Not when we still had a life-and-death mission to complete. A pregnancy only complicated things. What was I supposed to do? Run back to the palace to protect something I didn’t know for certain existed, give up on Thessa and Darcie?

No. That wasn’t an option.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to drop my hands and looked back at Luken. “I’m not abandoning the mission. Pregnancy or not, I can’t turn back.”

Luken nodded, looking troubled and defeated. “I know. But I thought you deserved to have all the information. The good news is that vampires are hardy. The baby you may or may not be carrying is a vampire, which means they’re strong. It’s nearly impossible to terminate a vampire pregnancy. So you don’t have to worry about fighting.”

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“We never talked about children,” I murmured, biting my lip. “Do you even want to be a father?”

“I…” He shook his head, as though trying to shake out his thoughts. “I haven’t put much thought into it. I assumed I would be someday. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’ll worry about that when we get home with Darcie and Thessa.”

“But do you want me to be pregnant?”

He cupped my cheek and ran his hand over my lip. “I want to give you everything, Elara. If that includes children, then I want that. But I understand if it’s too early. If we’re too shaky, you and I. I’m a patient man. I can wait.” He smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. “After all, I waited over three hundred years for you. I can wait again.”

Chapter 22

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