Bretdon: A Cyborg's fighting machine first and only Mate (The Cyborgs Reborn Book 3)
Page 14
Bretdon felt so close to losing control he was trembling. Rubbing his face, he gathered the last threads of self-control and took a deep breath. “When I was declared an adult, I was chosen to participate in a breeding experiment the government was conducting. I was forced to have sex with more than a hundred women, most of them human, the other ones cyborgs. They were trying to breed cyborgs naturally, but it was impossible,” he explained. “The minute the sperm reached the egg, it would destroy it, rather than fertilize it. The nanocybots seemed to consider the eggs as a potential threat, and there was never a conception.”
Bretdon hated to remember those times. It had been so humiliating the way they had used him and his friends as if they were nothing more than stallions used to breed.
He had hated every single experience to the point he had thought he would never feel attracted to a woman again. Ophelia had proven him wrong, but this pregnancy was something he couldn’t accept. It wasn’t possible.
Ophelia listened in silence, starting to understand a bit more of his disbelief.
“They tried to fertilize the eggs out of the women’s womb, and the result was the same.”
“Then, how did they manage to breed all of you?” she asked, puzzled.
“According to what I was told, the nanocybots were inoculated into the embryo when it was a few days old.”
A thick silence fell between them, and Ophelia wrapped her hands around her waist, feeling very tense.
“I understand why you’re so skeptical about this pregnancy, I guess I would be too if I were in your place, but this baby is yours. There’s no other possibility,” she said, in a stern tone. “It’s up to you to decide if you’ll be a part of the baby’s life or not.”
“It’s impossible, they tried so many times,”
“I don’t care if they tried a million times, Bret,” she ranted, losing her patience.
She had never expected to become pregnant, especially after he had told her it was impossible. She had dedicated her life to her career and with a war going on starting a family wasn’t the most intelligent thing to do. But, it had happened, and she wanted to celebrate the moment. She was expecting a little miracle, and his disbelief wasn’t allowing her to.
“You saw the baby, as well as I did. It’s a fact, it’s real,” she added, still mad at him. “I admit getting pregnant wasn’t in my plans, but now that I am, I’m happy. If you’re not, if you can’t believe in me, it’s alright. We’ll go our separate ways and move on with our lives,” she concluded bitterly.
Her words shook him out of his shock. He was losing her. He couldn’t let that happen. He wasn’t prepared to let her walk away from his life. Baby or no baby, he wanted her, and he wasn’t going to let her go.
Deep down, he knew she was telling him the truth. Fear and confusion had clouded his judgment, but now he could see clearly, she wasn’t deceiving him.
“No, that’s not what I want. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted you, I just never thought this was possible.”
She nodded, not entirely convinced by his change of mind, but willing to accept it for the moment.
“How do you feel about this?” he asked cautiously stepping forward and pulling her into his arms.
She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her forehead on his broad chest. “I’m not sure yet, it’s been quite a surprise.”
“Didn’t you suspect anything?” he asked, curious.
“No, I didn’t. With everything going on around us, I have to say I hadn't been paying much attention to my body and its physical functions,” she admitted, with a scowl.
“Are you happy with this?” he asked softly, not willing to start another argument.
“Yes, I am,” she tilted her head back to look at him. “This is our baby, Bret. It’s our little miracle.”
He nodded and hugged her tighter to his chest. “I have to admit this worries me. Part of the experiment was to make women carry the modified embryos, in order to eliminate the artificial wombs.”
“Did it work?” she asked, a bit concerned with the tone of his voice.
“No, it didn’t. Nanocybots on the embryo rejected the womb and destroyed it.”
“How far did they go?” she asked, worried. She didn’t want to lose her baby.
“None went further than a few weeks,” he admitted, but he was still worried.
“So, we should be safe, right?”
“How should I know? As far as I know, this has never happened before.” His tone revealed his anguish.
“Well, we still have seven months ahead of us,” she started saying.
“Cyborgs don’t take that long to be born.”
“What do you mean?” she took a step back to look at him, with her hands protectively on her belly.
“We develop a lot faster than humans. No baby cyborg lasts more than five months in the artificial wombs.”
And those words made him remember another fact he hadn't considered. No woman or female cyborg had done very well carrying a baby cyborg in their wombs. Apparently, their nutritional needs were so high they sucked it from their mother’s life. The problem was so severe, humans had been forced to end the pregnancies, especially, after a couple of women died because of it.
She was in shock. Gulping, she looked at her still flat belly. “So, I could be halfway there?” she asked, tremulous.
“I don’t know for sure, but it’s a possibility, yes.” He rubbed his face, worried, knowing that telling her about those women would only make her more nervous and he wouldn’t accomplish anything with it.
“Oh, god,” she mumbled, really scared now. If he was right, she would be giving birth in no time. She wasn’t ready for it.
He pulled her back into his arms. “We’ll be alright.” It was wishful thinking, but he would do all in his power to make sure nothing bad happened to her.
“I truly hope so.”
“At least, we’ll have medical assistance that won’t ask many questions,” he said, with a grin on his face. And that he planned on using on a very regular basis.
She chuckled. “Right, it would be hard explaining this pregnancy to a doctor in a hospital.”
“We’ll surprise the good old doctor here, believe me,” he assured her.
She took a deep breath. The pain his suspicions had caused her hadn't disappeared completely. “Are you sure you want to be a part of this, Bret? There can’t be any more doubts.”
He cupped her face and locked his eyes in hers. “I’m sorry I hurt you with my doubts. It was never my intention. My logical brain has trouble accepting the concept of a miracle.”
She nodded. “I know. It’s not easy to believe in them,” she scowled.
Chapter Twenty-Two
They stayed there for a while, in each other’s arms, as day made way to the dark night.
“We should get back. Dinner will be served in a few moments,” he suggested.
“Yes. I have to give mom the news. She will be thrilled,” she said, with a slight scowl.
“Do you think she’ll disapprove?” he hadn't thought of that.
“Of course not. She’ll be thrilled, believe me. She has been asking me to give her grandchildren ever since I finished college,” she assured him.
When they returned to the cave, it was apparent the rumor of Ophelia’s pregnancy had spread like fire on a prairie.
Marisa was waiting for them in the main room with Sandra at her side.
“Is it true? You’re expecting a child?” she asked her daughter, sounding anxious.
“Who told you?” Ophelia asked, with a frown. She had wanted to tell her mother about it.
“Sandra came to me when she heard the rumor,” her mother explained. “Then, it’s true? You’re having a baby?”
“Yes, I am.”
Her mother threw herself into her arms and hugged her tight. “Oh God, this is wonderful, I can’t believe this moment has finally arrived,” she mumbled, with tears in her eyes.
“Mom,” O
phelia protested.
“It’s the truth, and you know it. I’ve been asking you to make me a grandmother for years, now,” she cupped her daughter’s face and kissed her cheeks, with a broad smile.
“It’s only been three years, mother,” she grumbled, but she was as happy as her mother.
Sandra, on the other hand, didn’t look that happy. “The baby is yours, Bretdon?” she asked, clearly struggling to keep her concern out of her tone.
“Yes, it’s mine. She’s around ten weeks pregnant.” He informed, taking a step closer to Ophelia and wrapped his arms around her.
“So, she’s halfway there.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, we believe so.”
“What do you mean by that?” Marisa asked, in shock.
“Cyborg babies develop a lot faster than human ones. Ophelia’s baby will be mostly cyborg,” Sandra explained.
“You don’t sound surprised, Sandra. Have you ever heard of another case like ours?” Bretdon asked, suspicious.
The woman nodded. “Yes, I have, though I’m not in the liberty to explain the details, or reveal the name of the woman involved.”
“Was she able to complete the pregnancy without any problem?” he asked, eager to know more details.
“Yes, she was. Her baby took a bit longer to be born, but not much more,” she explained, with a faint smile.
“Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Why don’t we get some dinner? I’m starving,” he said, changing the subject.
He needed more information from Sandra, but he didn’t want Ophelia to hear it. He could tell she was a bit nervous and he didn’t want that.
The others agreed, and they headed to the tables. Dinner was served, and the main topic was Ophelia’s pregnancy.
Kirkcal and the other two cyborgs were extremely curious about it. Like Bretdon, they had been told it was impossible for cyborgs to breed naturally.
“I’m as surprised as you are,” he assured his friends.
“I’ve been with women before, and as far as I know, they never got pregnant,” Tyrcale pointed out. “I had serious wounds when I got to the camp where you found me and I had been there for a few months,” he explained.
“I was part of the breeding program, and I never got any of those women pregnant, either. But, according to Sandra, it’s not the first time it has happened,” he added, shrugging. “I’m sure it has to do with the nanocybots, but no idea what it is.”
“It doesn’t matter what it is. This means there is hope for us, that cyborgs won’t disappear once we perish,” Kirkcal pointed out. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find out how it happens.”
Bretdon nodded, smiling. His friend was right. Ophelia’s pregnancy meant cyborgs had a real future in Arcadia or wherever they decided to live.
After dinner, he left Ophelia chatting with her mother, Marian, and a few other women, while he went looking for Sandra. He wanted more information from her.
She sighed when she saw him coming. “I knew you would come looking for me,” she said, with a faint smile, as she invited him into her office.
“I need more information, you know that,” he said in a stern tone, taking a seat in front of the woman’s desk. She was already sitting in her chair.
“Yes, I do. But I don’t have all the answers. The woman involved kept a lot of her story to herself. She only came to me for help when the doctor seeing her at the hospital showed surprise with the baby’s fast development,” she explained. “Afraid he would call the authorities, she disappeared, and I took her in.”
“Was she able to give birth to the baby?” he asked, though he feared the answer.
“We didn’t try. When she went into labor, the doctors decided to deliver the baby via a C-section. The baby was very big, and they were afraid the delivery would endanger them both.”
“At the breeding program, they tried to have some women carry baby cyborgs, and it was a total failure. The nutritional demands of the baby killed some of the surrogate mothers, and they were forced to end some of the pregnancies,” he told her, expressing his biggest fear.
“Yes, I had heard about that, and I was very worried about her, but that didn’t happen with her. She was perfectly fine with the normal vitamin supplements for pregnant women.”
He let out a loud sigh of relief. “Let’s hope with Ophelia things go as fine as with your friend.”
“We’ll keep her under medical surveillance, to avoid any kind of surprise. I’ll call in the doctors that helped my friend. They currently live in one of our hideouts, not far from here,”
“Thank you, I would appreciate that.”
“We’re here to help each other,” she assured him before she changed the subject. “I thought you would like to know Jeffrey was removed from the council and the rest of us decided to wipe Jonathan’s memory and take him to one of the freedom camps,” she said, with a faint smile. “We believe that will be punishment enough.”
Bretdon nodded. “Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“Have you decided to stay with us, for now?” she asked, in a soft tone.
“Yes, we’re staying. We had decided to stay even before we knew Ophelia was pregnant. Staying seems to be the best decision. We can be of mutual help.”
“Yes, of course, we can. With your presence here, we’ll be a lot safer, and we can help a lot more people to escape the freedom camps,” she said, with relief in every word.
“Now that we have four cyborgs here, we could consider sending Tyrcale and Marzac to another of your camps. They would be more helpful there than here,” he suggested.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Do you think they wouldn’t mind leaving?” she asked, with a hopeful smile.
“I’m sure they won’t. How many camps do you people have?” he asked, curious.
“Six, with this one. We could send one of you to each camp.”
“I don’t think Kirkcal would appreciate being sent away from here. He seems to be courting Marian,” Bretdon explained, with a naughty grin.
Sandra smiled. “Perhaps, we can convince her to move out with him. She has been here for a while now, I’m sure she would appreciate the change.”
Bretdon nodded. “I’ll leave that up to you. Tomorrow morning, I’ll discuss this with my friends, but I’m sure they will be more than pleased to help you and your people.”
“Thank you, Bretdon. I’m really glad you decided to stay with us. I know we were wrong believing in Jonathan just because Jeffrey vouched for him, but I assure you that it won’t happen again.”
“That’s all I can ask. Now, if you don’t mind, I will take Ophelia to bed. She needs to get some rest,” he said, getting up.
“Let her enjoy her pregnancy. It will be very short, and the last thing she needs is to stress over it,” she advised him.
“I know, and I’ll do all in my power to make sure nothing happens to her.”
He couldn’t let that happen. His life depended on it. Ophelia had become the most important thing in his life, and he couldn’t even consider the possibility of losing her.
Despite his jealousy when he discovered her pregnancy, he knew he would have accepted her even if the baby wasn’t his. He would accept anything, just to have her in his arms forever.
Sandra nodded and walked him to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
The following weeks went by in a haze. Ophelia insisted on continuing working on the transmitters, and though it didn’t make him happy, Bretdon was forced to agree with it.
Kirkcal and the other cyborgs left for the nearest camps after he convinced Marian to accompany him. Ophelia wasn’t pleased with her friend’s departure, but she knew she would have done exactly the same if she had been in the other girl’s place.
Staying away from their cyborgs was too painful.
Marisa quickly got used to the life in the caves, and soon she was the same woman she had always been. She started working with another group of women on what she did best: matching people.
Chapter Twenty-Three
One night, right after they had showered, Ophelia stood in front of the mirror, looking at her big belly with a scowl on her face.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, standing right behind her and wrapping his arms around her. The baby immediately reacted to his presence kicking and moving inside her. The first time he had done that, they had been amazed.
“I’m huge, how can you find me attractive?” she grumbled.
“Sweetheart, you’re carrying my child. You’ve never looked more attractive to me, believe me,” he said, pressing his hips against hers, allowing her to feel his hard cock.
She rubbed her round ass against him moaning with pleasure. “I still feel like a whale,” she said, complaining.
“It won’t be long now,” he assured her, and that fact scared him a little bit.
The doctors were ready to do the C-section when the time came, but he couldn’t help feeling worried.
She turned around to meet his eyes. “Then, we shouldn’t be wasting our time,” she said, in a seductive tone as she pulled his head down and brushed his lips against hers.
Feeling the fire sizzling again between them, Bretdon cupped her face and claimed a passionate kiss on her lips. His tongue slid into her mouth and assailed every inch of it, marking her as his property, before he allowed her to breathe again.
Sliding his hands down her curvy body, he caressed her belly a few times, enjoying the baby’s response, before he made her turn around and bend over the bed’s footboard. Pushing gently, he made her spread her legs a bit more with his knees, while he slid a couple of fingers down her wet slit.
She was incredibly wet, and he pushed his fingers deep inside her, while his thumb played with her engorged clit. It only took him a few thrusts and rubs to have her begging for release.