by T. J. Quinn
Ryoko started pacing the room, glancing at me every now and then as if he was trying to convince himself of something.
“Ryoko… you’re scaring me. What the hell is going on?” I urged him to answer me.
He rubbed his face a couple of times before he stopped and crouched in front of me.
“Focus on that feeling… try to reach it,” he asked me.
“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” I asked, confused and about to freak out.
“Pretend you want to contact another Slyth… try to get in touch with his mind, the way you do with mine,” he asked, in a stern tone.
“What? Ryoko…”
He interrupted me. “Please… indulge me…” he insisted.
Still thinking he was losing his mind, I did as he told me, and I freaked out when I heard mumbling.
“Ryoko…” I said, sitting up. “What’s this? Have I been infected? There’s someone… a creature… inside me,” I said, fear oozing through each of my words.
He cradled my face and kissed my forehead. “Think, Maya… how does this creature sound?” he asked, scowling. He seemed amused but also scared.
I frowned. “Like a baby…” it suddenly hit me. “A baby? I’m pregnant? Is that it? How’s that even possible?” I fired the questions in fast succession.
He chuckled, but I could tell he was as astounded as I was. “I’m afraid I wasn’t careful… I forgot most Slyth’s first child is conceived during the last stage of the claiming ritual,” he explained.
“You mean… last night? Isn’t it too soon?” I asked, incredulous.
He shook his head. “Not for us. We develop very fast, and a few hours after being conceived, we’re able to establish communication with our mother,” he explained.
“How long does the pregnancy last?” I asked, getting scared.
“Time is measured differently in my planet, but I would say around two earthling months, give or take…”
“Two months?! Ours take nine months…” I interrupted him.
“I guess this baby might take longer… since he would be half-human, half Slyth…” he tried to calm me, but he only made things worse.
“Oh, god… what if we’re not compatible? What if the baby is affected by that?” I asked, clearly freaking out.
“If we weren’t compatible, you wouldn’t be my mate,” he assured me. “Besides, the baby is fine… he’s already made contact with you,” he pointed out.
I threw myself into his arms. “I’m scared…” I whispered. “We’re fighting a war… this is no time to bring a child into the world,” I added, feeling troubled.
“I know… but everything will be alright. If anything, your pregnancy has given me another reason to fight harder to make this a better world for our baby,” he said, hugging me tightly.
I chuckled, but the sound came up strangled. “I’ll take your word for it,” I warned him.
He kissed me. A deep, passionate kiss meant to tell me exactly how he felt about me. “We’ll be fine, as long as we have each other,” he assured me. “You’re my world, and your happiness is the only thing that matters.”
I kissed him back. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips. “I was never a romantic person. People around me taught me love was an illusion, that it wasn’t real. You taught otherwise, and I can’t tell you in words how much you mean to me. I’m so happy you came into my life… even if the circumstances were the worst ever,” I added, scowling.
He caressed my cheeks with his thumbs. “Getting to know you is the only thing I can ever thank the Asseptians for,” he assured me, amused.
I laughed. “Yeah… I feel the same way,” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back to the floor, my hunger for him greater than ever.
He kissed me, an all-consuming kiss that shot my arousal spiraling to the skies. Meanwhile, his hands feasted on my body, caressing, squeezing, grazing… each touch meant to drive me insane, to take me a step closer to paradise.
He picked my legs up and gently spread them, as much as possible, before he nestled his big, thick cock against my dripping entrance. One single thrust catapulted me into the first orgasm. My walls clenched hard around his shaft, and each time he moved in and out of me, I seemed to reach yet another level of pleasure and bliss.
By the time he came, buried deep inside of me, I was totally lost in a blissful haze.
We were still in each other’s arms, trying to catch our breaths, when a loud thump told us Zayn was back.
Ryoko kissed me a couple of times before he jumped up. “I should go talk to him,” he announced as he fixed his clothes. “Do you think you could eat something?” he asked, looking at me.
“I’m ravenous… so, yes, I could eat a whole deer if you can find one,” I assured him, smiling.
He laughed as he walked out of the room, leaving me with my thoughts.
Lying on the floor, I stared at the ceiling for a while, still having a hard time believing this was really happening… that I was really expecting a baby.
Bringing a child into this fucked up world had never been in my plans. But now that I was pregnant, I knew I would do all in my power to give that baby the world he or she deserved.
A soft purr echoed in my mind, and I laughed, overwhelmed with love for a baby so tiny I couldn’t feel but that I could certainly hear.
My hands flew to cover my lower belly and caress it. “Mommy will take care of you… do you hear me?” I whispered, and the baby responded with another purr that sent chills of thrill down my spine.
This was real, and though I had never been so scared, I was also excited and ecstatic.
Suddenly feeling full of energy, I got up and went to meet Ryoko and Zayn outside.
“You’re looking a lot better,” Zayn told me when he saw me come out of the building.
“I am feeling much better, thank you,” I assured him.
They were making a fire to roast a small animal I wasn’t able to identify, and my stomach roared.
“Hungry?” Ryoko teased me.
“More than you can imagine,” I assured him.
“What you say we leave after we eat?” Zayn suggested. “We could fly during the night and be at the headquarters before noon.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Ryoko said, frowning.
“But it is… if this will be anything like it’s supposed, I’ll feel ill again in the morning,” I warned Ryoko. “I slept all day long. I won’t be able to sleep again. We might as well use that time.”
“What’s this? What’s going on?” Zayn asked, surprised.
I looked at Ryoko and waited for him to make the announcement. “Maya is expecting my child,” he said, and there was so much pride in his tone, my heart jumped with joy.
“Congratulations!” Zayn said, but I was able to notice a hint of sadness in his tone.
I approached the huge beast and patted his flank. “You too will find your mate,” I told him in a soothing tone.
“I’m more hopeful than ever,” he told me, nuzzling me the way I had seen him nuzzle Fallon.
We left right after we ate, and it was definitely the best decision. A couple of hours before we arrived at the headquarters, I started to feel the morning sickness, and by the time we got there, all I wanted was a place to lay my head and sleep.
“Fallon, I’m so happy to see you here,” Fallon came to meet me.
“I’m happy to be here, but I really need to lie down,” I told her, as Ryoko helped me down from Zayn’s rump.
“You’re still ill,” Fallon concluded, frowning.
“I’m not ill…” I corrected her with a faint smile. “I’m pregnant.”
“What? Are you sure?” Fallon was in shock.
Ryoko picked me in his arms. “You can talk later. Where can I take her?” he asked Fallon.
“Adruz told me about your home, so I prepared a small apartment for you two. Follow me, please,” she told him before she guided us to a small apart
ment with everything we might need.
Ryoko took me straight to bed. “Will you be alright? I would like to go talk to my men,” he asked me.
“I’ll be fine. You know I only need to get some sleep,” I told him, smiling.
He leaned down and kissed me before he left the apartment, leaving me with Fallon.
“When did this happen?” Fallon asked, taking a seat in bed next to me.
“The night he fully claimed me,” I confessed.
“How can you know so soon?” Fallon asked, startled.
“You know the Slyths are telepathic, right? Well, the baby made contact with me,” I chuckled. “He or she loves to purr and mumble… it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard in my life…” I confessed, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks.
Fallon leaned down and hugged me. “I’m so happy for you, and I’m sure the news will be a huge incentive to all of those fighting this war,” Fallon said, wiping the tears from my face.
“I just want the baby to have a future,” I murmured, showing some of my fear.
I knew nothing of being a mother. Mine hadn’t been the best example around.
“Hey, you know you can count on me for all you might need, don’t you?” Fallon told me in a confident tone. She placed her hand over my still flat belly and caressed it. “This is my godchild, remember? We’ll all fight for him or her,” she promised me, and I chuckled.
When we were kids, we had promised each other we would be our kids’ godmothers. I was surprised she still remembered it.
“Now, get some sleep. We’ll have a special dinner tonight to celebrate our small victory while we can,” Fallon told me, and I nodded, appreciating her support.
That night, feeling a lot better, I went to the refectory to meet the others. Adruz had invited all the people that had been involved in this first victory.
The room was big enough to allow the dragons in, so the place was quite crowded.
“Maya! I’m so happy you could join us,” Adruz called me out. “Fallon told me the news. Congratulations!”
I smiled and walked up to meet him. “Thank you… this is still very new for me, but I’m delighted…”
“Maya? Is that you, pumpkin?” the man’s voice came from the man Adruz had been talking to before I walked in.
My heart stopped for a moment as the voice echoed in my heart. “Dad?” I whispered, afraid to believe my ears.
The man came forward and pulled me into his arms in a tight hug. “It is you… oh, God, I thought I had lost you too…” he cried while he cradled me in his arms.
“How is this possible? They told me you had been sent to the infection quarters…” I asked, stammering, unable to believe he was really here.
He hugged me harder. “I was… but they rejected me, and I was thrown into the streets… I never left town, hoping I would someday see you again, even if from afar…” he confessed, crying.
“What’s going on here?” Ryoko’s voice echoed in my mind, loud and suspicious.
Wiping the tears from my face, I turned to look at him. “Ryoko… he’s my father. He’s alive,” I told him as I threw myself in his arms, unable to stop the tears. “First Fallon… and now my father… can you believe it?”
Ryoko cradled my face and wiped the tears. “If it makes you happy, then I’m happy, salavíf,” he assured me.
I kissed him passionately before I turned to introduce him to my father.
“Dad, he’s Ryoko. Ryoko, my father, Matt,” I said, smiling.
My father’s expression was a bit stiff. “He’s one of the generals,” he said, tense.
“Yes… he’s also my mate and the father of your future grandchild,” I announced, with a wide smile.
“He’s not one of us,” he protested with a deep frown.
“He’s part of me, and that’s all that matters,” I told him, letting him know he had to accept Ryoko if he wanted me in his life, without so many words.
Matt shook his head and gave me a wavering smile. “Of course… your happiness is all that matters. I’m sorry… I was just caught off guard,” he assured me and stretched his arm to greet Ryoko. “Welcome to the family.”
Ryoko shook his hand and smiled. “Thank you.”
“Your father was of great help while I was planning to get rid of the Asseptians,” Adruz informed me.
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said and smiled.
“You’re expecting a child?” dad asked me, and I nodded.
“I just found out yesterday, so this is still new for me,” I explained.
“I’m very happy for you, sweetie.”
“Well, let’s celebrate,” Adruz asked us, and we went looking for a table.
The surrounding gibberish was loud, happy, and careless. I knew it wouldn’t last much, but tonight I would make the best of it and enjoy it while I could.
Fate… destiny… God… someone had sent me the love of my life when I thought all was lost and that I would never know what it felt to love and be loved by someone, the way I felt with Ryoko.
The world around us was at war, and things certainly would not be easy, but it didn’t matter, as long as I had him by my side. He brought light into my dark life, and I would cling to it till my last breath and beyond.
He was my soul mate. Now I had no doubt at all, and no matter how hard things got, I would always know he was there, standing by my side.
The end
