Pregnant with the Werelion King's Cub (Paranormal Werelion Baby Romance) (Howls Romance Book 2)
Page 9
Abby ran her hands over her belly, thinking of what the future had in store for her child. “You said it’s only a small chance? How small?”
“About one in four,” Merek said. “Whereas among two werelion parents, odds are three in four that the child will inherit the shifter genes, though there are some cases where a child of two shifters is born a pure human.”
Abby bit her lower lip. She sensed a touch of disappointment in Merek’s tone. “Would you be…ashamed…if our child isn’t a lion?”
Merek looked away, not meeting her eyes. “I will love our child no matter what happens. But…considering my status within the pride, it would be…unfortunate, if our child were to be born human.”
“Because you’re the king,” Abby said, remembering what the doctor had said earlier.
Merek nodded. “And our child will be royalty among my clan. In addition to inheriting my family fortune. But without shifter blood, it’s likely that our child would be unable to rule. She would likely either end up a figurehead within the clan, or else she would need to marry a strong member of another clan so that he may rule as king in her stead.”
Abby pressed her lips together in a thin line. She didn’t like the idea of her daughter being somehow less important than the other members of the family, or the pride or the clan, whatever Merek wanted to call it. And she certainly wouldn’t stand for her daughter being subjected to some kind of arranged marriage.
“Is there anything we can do?” she asked.
Merek looked at her, meeting her eyes. He didn’t answer, but the look in his eyes told her there was something. Something he didn’t want to tell her. A few days ago, she might have let him keep his secrets. He had apparently been keeping a lot of things from her ever since she had moved in with him. But now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, she didn’t see any reason for further secrecy. She wanted to know everything.
“Merek?” She reached out and touched his hand. “This is all really new and scary to me, and I know I don’t understand everything yet. But I love you. And I want what’s best for our baby. What do we need to do?”
Merek let out a long sigh. “There is one thing.”
He took Abby’s hand and held it between both of his. “We are mated,” he said, “but not fully.”
“You…want to get married?” Abby asked.
“It’s not the same as marriage,” Merek said. “That is, I would like to get married as well. But marriage is only about love and commitment. A full mating ritual among my people goes deeper than that.”
“What do you mean?”
“You remember what I said about our DNA being different? How we can’t pass our bloodline to another unless we are mated?”
Abby nodded.
“Well,” Merek said, “the first part of mating is something that happens without our conscious knowledge. It happened on our first night together. Something in my blood stirred when I was with you, and my body responded, allowing me to impregnate you, when with any other woman I would have…”
“Been shooting blanks?” Abby suggested.
Merek smirked. “I suppose you could put it that way. But there is another aspect to the mating ritual, one that can only be done deliberately. It is a sharing of blood.”
Abby flinched. “I’m not drinking anyone’s blood.”
Merek threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, no. Heavens, no. We’re werelions, not vampires.”
“Oh. Right.” Abby chewed on her lower lip. “So what does that mean? Sharing blood?”
Merek reached up and touched her neck, tracing his fingers gently across her skin. “There is one thing we have in common with the stories you might have heard about werewolves. Our bloodline, the DNA of a shifter, can be transferred through a bite.”
Abby’s eyes widened and a chill ran through her. She covered her neck protectively with one hand. “You want to bite me?” She had the feeling he wasn’t just talking about giving her a hickey.
“It would inject my…my essence into your blood. We don’t know how it actually works, whether it’s a type of virus, or a transfer of DNA, or what. Call it magic, if you will. But after the bite, you would become like me.”
“And the baby?” Abby asked, touching her belly.
“It would transfer to the baby as well,” Merek said. “Just as anything else in your blood can be passed on to the child while she is in the womb, the shifter gift would be as well. Mated couples in my clan usually bite each other during a pregnancy for this reason, to increase the chances of having a shifter offspring. The odds of a shifter baby go up from seventy-five percent to more than ninety. It would all but guarantee that our child is born with the bloodline of her birthright, and then, no one would ever challenge her right to rule.”
“Is it dangerous?” Abby asked.
“Not if it’s done properly,” Merek said. “I promise you. I would be gentle.”
He caressed her cheek. Abby closed her eyes, thinking it over. She couldn’t have imagined, seven months ago, that this would be the path her life would take. She had gone from being an underpaid housekeeper to being the mistress of a wealthy, powerful man. More than a man. A beast, and a king of beasts. And he was offering to make her his queen.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She nodded slowly.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She nodded again. “If it’s what’s best for the baby, then yes, I want it.”
She also had to admit that the idea had a certain thrill to it. Being able to transform, in the same way Caroline had. She would never be helpless and vulnerable again. She would become something greater than what she had been. Something stronger. Something powerful and unstoppable.
And she would be a queen. That was something she would never be able to pass up on.
“How do we do it?” she asked.
Merek raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “The traditional way for such an intimate act, is to make it an…intimate act.”
Abby’s face heated up. “Oh.”
“It doesn’t have to be tonight,” Merek said. “You can take some time to think about it if you want.”
There was a part of Abby that wanted to hesitate. To ask more questions. To learn more about what it really meant to be a werelion. To be something other than human. But she worried that if she started asking too many questions, she would lose her nerve. She needed to take the plunge. To make the decision now, before she change her mind.
“I want to,” she said, forcing a small smile. “Please.”
“If that is what you want,” Merek said.
She nodded. “It is.”
Meek dimmed the lights. He sat next to Abby on the bed, stroking her hair and holding her hand gently in his. He kissed her, and his touch made her feel warm.
Slowly, he began to undress her. She shifted awkwardly in the bed, worried that he wouldn’t find her attractive anymore now that she was so big, or that she wouldn’t be able to perform well enough for him. But he seemed perfectly at ease, taking his time and guiding her the entire time. He moved on top of her, his muscular body outlined in shadows, and for a moment, Abby thought she saw the beast side of him again. Then she realized that was exactly what she was going to see. He had dimmed the lights to conceal it, but if he was going to bite her, he would need to do so in his bestial form.
She ran her fingers along his chest, trying to guess whether what she felt was simply his natural chest hair, or if it was the fur of the hybrid beast. She looked into his eyes and caught a flash of gold. When he pushed himself inside of her, she heard a low, animal growl rumbling deep within his chest.
She clung to him while he fucked her, gripping his black mane, biting her lip to hold back her moans. Merek was slow but rough, claiming her body in a way that was gentle yet forceful at the same time. There was no rush. They had all the time in the world. But with every movement, every touch, every thrust, he was making her his, making her belong to him. And as the pleasure built insid
e of her, she realized it was true. She truly did belong to him, and she was about to become his in a new way, in a way that would last forever.
He leaned forward. She closed her eyes. Merek nuzzled against her neck, sending shivers through her body. His warm breath tickled her skin. She felt his fangs touch her neck, pressing down with the slightest pressure. At first it felt like a love bite, the same as Merek sometimes gave her when they were getting frisky together. But then the pressure on her skin slowly increased, and she felt a sharp jab of pain. Something warm trickled across her skin, and she realized it was her own blood.
A burning sensation flowed through her. She felt like she was floating. Feverish, her mind started to wander. She felt separated from her body. She could feel Merek’s fangs penetrating her skin at the same time his hard cock penetrated her, but the sensations suddenly became distant, like she was no longer a part of her physical form. Waves of pleasure passed through her, bringing with them pain, wonder, and just a touch of fear. But she could still feel Merek’s strong arms around her, comforting her, holding her close. And she knew it was all right. He would never hurt her.
Merek leaned back, his body shuddering, and she knew he was approaching climax. She felt him convulse as he filled her with his seed, and she felt her own body tense up as the waves of pleasure and pain took her to a new height of wonder and ecstasy that she’d never thought possible.
She wasn’t sure when she came back to her senses, becoming fully aware of her body once more. The pain in her neck had faded, and Merek was holding a towel against the bite to stop the bleeding. His other hand was resting over her belly, feeling for the baby’s kick.
She looked up at him and smiled. “Is that it?” she asked. “Is it done?”
He studied her eyes for a moment and then nodded. “You won’t feel the full change for some time. It isn’t instantaneous, and besides, women bearing offspring are unable to shift until after the baby is born. Your body won’t allow it. So you’ll have to be patient.”
Abby put her hands over her belly. She knew it would be a long time before she could do what Merek could do. She had only taken the first step. But she could feel the burning in her blood as her body began to change on the inside. She could feel ancient instincts hovering just beneath the surface, waiting to awaken. The instincts of a hunter, of a creature that was more than woman, more than beast. A fighter. She thought of the baby growing inside of her and she knew she would be able to protect her daughter from anything that ever threatened her. And she knew she would never be anyone’s victim again.
More than that, she knew she had taken a step toward a greater path in life. Merek was more than just a man, more than just an entrepreneur. He was a king. And starting tonight, she was his queen.
A proud smile touched her lips. A queen. Queen Abigail.
She could definitely get used to that.
Howls Romance
Classic romance… with a furry twist!
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Copyright © 2017 by Claire Pike
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