by Riley Storm
“I take it, by the sounds of things, that the two of you have met before?” Victor asked casually.
“Perhaps,” Valla admitted out of the side of his mouth, still staring in shock at a face he’d only seen once before, nearly three months earlier.
A face he’d never expected to run into again. It didn’t make sense though. There had been no expectation that he would call. In fact, Valla had slipped out in the middle of the night, so as not to give way to any sort of awkward morning. He’d thought that was what she would have wanted.
Judging by the emotions playing across her face, however, he’d been wrong. Very, very wrong.
“Care to explain to me how you managed that?” Victor was saying, keeping his voice low. “I thought you said you didn’t really make any impressions on anyone when you came to town.”
Valla cringed. He’d not expected to get caught in the lie. Certainly not so blatantly, at least. But now here he was, exposed.
“I don’t need to tell you everything I did,” he growled while the other people in the office all looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Maybe you should have,” Victor suggested smugly. “Because it looks like whatever you did, it’s come around full circle to bite you in the ass.”
“No shit,” he said, keeping his voice so low that only Victor’s hearing would pick it up.
“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Liz asked from across the table.
“About what?” was all he could think of to say, still not sure why he was being greeted with such hostility. It was not as if he’d done anything she hadn’t wanted. Or asked for. Over and over. To the best of his knowledge, he’d left Liz very, very satisfied that night. So where was the anger coming from, he wondered?
“About what? About what?” Liz sputtered, then came to an abrupt halt, looking around.
Valla, like several of the others in the room, just frowned at her.
What the heck was going on?
Chapter 5
All at once, the stares of the other people in the room cut through her anger, reminding Liz of where she was. Of who she was with. Swallowing nervously, she glanced around.
Both Stephen and Tanya, the other two members of the team, were staring at her open-mouthed, unsure of what to say. Thankful for their ignorance, she tuned them out. Cheryl, on the other hand, was giving her a weird, unreadable look. Something screamed at Liz, telling her that whatever thoughts were hidden behind it were important.
There was no time to try and decode it, however, because yet again, her attention was returned to the giant standing in the room—standing with Victor, a man she knew very well. In fact, they had been working together for several months now, very closely.
“A friend of yours?” she asked, addressing Cheryl’s fiancé casually, trying to see if she could just put everything back in the bag.
You know that’s not possible.
“Everyone who hasn’t already, I’d like you to meet Valla, my brother.”
Valla.
Oh yes, she knew the name. The first name, at least. Now, however, Liz had that elusive missing piece of the puzzle. His last name.
Valla Drakon.
Everyone who hasn’t already, Victor said. Meaning he knows.
Everyone knew, that was clear. There was no stopping it now, she realized, so may as well own it.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, tilting her head down to the side to direct the words at Cheryl.
“Yeah. Um. Take your time,” her boss said. “As much as you need. We’ll go over everything once you get back.”
She thanked Cheryl with a nod and then headed for the door, knowing that all eyes were on her. Everyone’s, except, that is, Valla.
“You. Outside,” she said, stunned at how calm her voice was.
Valla frowned, then looked back at Victor. She watched the little byplay between them. No words were spoken, and neither of them truly moved, but Liz sensed that much had been said.
“Okay,” Valla told her after a moment, his voice tight yet filled more with curiosity than any other emotion.
Because he didn’t know what she was going to tell him. How could he, since he hadn’t contacted her in nearly three months?
Calm. Remember, he was under no obligation to call you. That night was as much you using him to blow off steam and scratch an itch as it was for him to do the same with you. Just because you really wanted him to call, doesn’t mean he was ever going to.
Sometimes, Liz hated it when the rational side of her brain kicked in. It was right, of course, as Valla hadn’t done anything wrong.
So why did it hurt her so much?
“I didn’t know you worked here.”
“That’s ‘cause we didn’t do much talking, now, did we Valla?” she asked, not overly interested in small talk.
“I guess not,” he said.
They were in the hallway now outside the conference room. She thought about dragging him to another room, but to do that would mean passing by either the secretary at the front, or the desks of some of her colleagues in other departments. Neither of those options was preferable.
Hallway discussion it was.
“You’re upset with me,” Valla said, pre-empting her as she turned to face him.
“You didn’t call,” she stated, deciding to see how he would respond.
The big man nodded slowly, rubbing at his jaw. “I was preoccupied with things outside of my control. Visiting Plymouth Falls again wasn’t really in the cards until recently.”
“You had my cell. You could have texted me.”
She saw his face crinkle slightly, wondering what he was thinking.
“Let’s just say I was, unaware, of the meaning behind it,” he said, sounding uncomfortable. “Though I am now. That was a, rough stretch, for me.”
“I see.” She didn’t, at all, but there seemed little point in pursuing that line of conversation. It all boiled down to the fact that, although she was angry at him for disappearing, he wasn’t worthy of her anger.
“You’re still mad at me,” Valla said, running a hand through his immaculately styled hair. Somehow, it all sprang back into place when he was done.
All at once, that tiny, infuriating thing broke the gates, and a lifetime worth of insecurity and fear came rushing out of her all at once.
“Was I that bad?” she asked quietly, no longer able to look at him while she spoke, dreading his reply. “Were you so unhappy that you didn’t want to do it again?”
Liz knew that society didn’t view her as stereotypically beautiful. Her hips were too thick, her stomach wasn’t flat, and short curly hair wasn’t seen as desirable either. She’d learned to live with it, to accept who she was and be happy. Or so she’d thought.
Then had come Valla. Valla and his Greek-god-like figure, his stone-carved muscles, and dick sent from heaven. A man she would never have dreamed about as being interested in her. Yet he’d spent all night doing his best to show interest in nobody but her.
Later, he’d done more than that, diving into her body with an abandon that still struck her to this day. Nobody had been so obsessed with her curves and the lines of her body before. She’d thought it was impossible to fake that, but perhaps she’d been wrong. And now she needed to know.
Had his interest in her all been a show? A gag? Maybe a bet with a friend, she wondered.
“What?” Valla’s yelp caught her off guard.
“Shh,” she said, not wanting the others to know what she was talking about, for they were surely trying to overhear the conversation through the closed door.
“How can you think that?” he said.
Looking deep into his eyes, so bright and shot through with white, they were nearly gray instead of blue, Liz searched for any sort of deception or lies. Anything that would reveal his true character.
Yet all she saw staring back was Valla.
He wasn’t in the wrong.
This was her fault.
“W
hat is going on?” he wanted to know. “Liz, what aren’t you telling me?”
This was it. The moment where she would tell him that she was carrying his child. That their one night of passion had resulted in this, a connection that would never leave them.
She hesitated though. How would he react? Liz realized she didn’t know the first thing about Valla. It was only today she’d discovered he was Victor’s brother, and a member of the reclusive Drakon family, one of the three founding families of Plymouth Falls. But who was he, as a person?
Would he become angry, she wondered, and hate her for deciding to keep the child and raise it? If she did that, he would also be responsible for its well-being. Not all men took well to that knowledge, especially when their only expectations had been for pleasure.
Still, she couldn’t not tell him. Withholding the knowledge that he was going to have a child wasn’t something Liz was capable of. He had a right to know, plain and simple.
“There’s something you need to know,” she said slowly, gauging his response as she went.
“You’re terrified,” he said, frowning as she inched away from the wall so that nothing was at her back. “Of me? No. Of what you’re going to tell me. You fear how I’m going to react to it.”
Her eyebrows went up. “You got all that from me standing up straight?”
“Humans are easy to read when you know how,” he said dismissively.
Liz frowned at the way he said the word humans. There was an odd inflection to it, something she couldn’t place, but it wasn’t relevant to the discussion at hand, so she forgot it.
“I’m nervous, yes,” she said, deciding to be honest. They were in her office, a public place. There were people around. Nothing was going to happen.
“You needn’t be. I could never harm you,” Valla said, face completely serious. “No matter how bad whatever you’re going to tell me is.”
“It’s not bad,” she whispered, looking down at her stomach. “At least, I don’t think so.”
“What is it then Liz? Please, just tell me.”
She sighed. Valla had a point, and she couldn’t keep him in suspense. The polite thing to do was just spit out the words, and then tell him how it was going to go down. Just like that. Don’t hold back.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, her voice so far below a whisper it was nearly inaudible. “Three months.”
Valla blinked very slowly. “What did you just say?”
“I said,” she repeated in a louder voice, gaining strength. “That I am pregnant. It’s yours. I am carrying your child.” Her last voice wasn’t a shout, but it certainly echoed down the hallway more than she would have cared for.
“What?”
The muffled shout came from behind the door to the conference room and sounded very much like Victor’s voice.
Oh crap.
Now everyone knew.
Chapter 6
Valla reached out for the wall, needing something to steady himself against.
“Uh, Valla? You okay?” Liz asked, her eyes widening as she stared at where his hand was resting on the wall.
“Yeah? Why?” he said weakly, his head turning to follow. “Oh.”
His hand wasn’t resting on the wall. It was in it. Clearly, in his stunned state, he’d forgotten his own strength and simply shoved his fist through the wall until it hit something harder than drywall.
“Oops.”
“You said you wouldn’t be mad,” Liz pointed out, biting her lip nervously.
“Not mad,” he said blankly, still trying to process what she’d told him. “Not mad. Just…shock. I, I never expected this.”
“Well that makes two of us,” she said wryly, rubbing her stomach.
Her stomach, where she was carrying a child. His child. A child that the two of them had created in a moment of passion.
No wonder she’d been upset that he didn’t call. A lot of pieces clicked into place in his head as he was able to understand her emotions and the initial reaction to seeing him walk into the conference room.
“Oh Liz,” he said softly, wanting nothing more than to reach out and take her hands as he thought it all over, tried to put himself in her shoes. He didn’t though, sensing that she was still feeling flighty, not sure of how he was going to take the news. “I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry,” she said. “I’m not upset. I chose to keep it. This was my decision, and the actions that led to it were just as much mine as yours you know. Don’t go trying to act like I’m a victim here.”
He smiled at her strength of personality but shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant. Not what I’m sorry for.”
“What are you sorry for then?” she wanted to know, eyebrows knitting together slightly in confusion.
“Three months,” he said softly.
“Pardon me?”
“For three months now, you’ve done this on your own,” he elaborated, some of his own emotions bubbling to the top. “Without me there.”
“I don’t need you.”
The words hit harder than he expected. Valla worked his jaw for a moment before responding, letting the sting fade. “No, you’re probably right. You don’t. But that doesn’t mean you should have had to do it without me. Since it is my child after all,” he said with a bit of emphasis.
“Yes,” Liz said easily, interpreting his unspoken question. “There’s been no one else for a long time before or since.”
He absorbed that information, trying very hard not to think about any potential implications it might have. It had been fun with Liz, but he couldn’t let himself think about going back there. He had to find his mate. To bond with her, so that they could awaken another dragon. It was one of his two big missions, the other being the vampires.
All at once, he straightened, realizing that doing that had just taken on a brand-new priority for him.
“I’ll be there for you now,” he said. “To help. I’m sorry I wasn’t before, but that will all change now I’m back. I can—”
“No.”
His voice died. Liz crossed her arms in an unspoken challenge as he prepared to keep speaking, but her stance, the set of her jaw, the look in her eyes, it all told him that she wasn’t just throwing that answer out there. This was something she’d thought about. A lot.
“No,” he repeated, turning the word over, digesting the implications of it.
“I’m going to raise the child on my own, Valla. I…I don’t want you around. I’ve done it this far, I’ve managed it all. I can do it by myself.”
He frowned. “But why? Why go it alone when you don’t have to? I’m here now.”
“But you weren’t then,” she said, her voice quavering.
He nearly repeated what he’d said earlier. About him now knowing, about not being aware, and that he had a legitimate reason for it.
A reason, of course, that he couldn’t tell her about. What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with your phone number? That I’ve been asleep since before they were a thing. That I only learned about them recently?
No, Valla knew he couldn’t say that, and wouldn’t even bother. That was his secret, something he had to carry and deal with himself. Unfortunately, even if he had called her, it wasn’t like he could have done much more than that. After Victor and Aaric had discovered he’d left the Keep, they had put him on lockdown to prevent it from happening again.
Even if he could have told her all that, however, the more Valla studied her face, the more he could tell something else was bothering her. There was a reason that his absence mattered as much as it did when it came to their child.
“I want to be a part of the child’s life,” he said, testing her mettle on the matter.
“No,” she said quietly. “I can’t trust for you to be there. I won’t put the child through that. Perhaps visitations when it’s older. But I will be raising it on my own.” She turned to go. “Come on, we have a meeting to go to
. I just thought you should know.”
Valla stood dumbfounded, and entirely unsure of how to proceed. Her actions seemed entirely out of line with his transgression. It wasn’t like he’d known she was pregnant and had avoided her because of it. As soon as he’d found out, he had told her he was going to help. Yet she wouldn’t let him. His absence had affected her on some level he couldn’t understand.
I wonder if she even truly realizes how harsh she’s being in relation to the supposed ‘crime’?
Now wasn’t the time to convince her. Not here, not in public. It would take time.
Liz had already made her way back down the hallway and was holding the door open.
“Come on,” she said. “Time to get back to work.”
Valla followed somewhat numbly. Somewhere in his mind, he realized he was in shock, that he hadn’t fully processed the fact he was going to be a father. To a dragon, there was little honor higher than that of parent.
Entering the conference room, he calmly met Victor’s eyes. Knowing the sensitivity of dragon hearing, he was well aware that Victor had likely heard every word of what had gone on out in the hallway. If there had been any doubt, it was dispelled by the flames burning in the water dragon’s eyes. Oh yes, he was in for an earful when they left the meeting.
He stared back at the older dragon defiantly, challenging him with his eyes. There was nothing he could do about it now. Liz was pregnant, and she was going to give birth to a dragon shifter.
In time, she would have to be told the truth so that the changes in her child wouldn’t come as a surprise to her. Her world would never be the same, and just as she hadn’t known how Valla would react to the news of her pregnancy, neither did the dragons know how she would react to their revelation.
Things are certainly going to be rather interesting from here on out, he thought to himself. Very, very interesting.
Victor finally turned away from him to address the rest of the table, all of whom were glancing between Valla and Liz, not making any attempt to hide their curiosity about what had happened.
Perhaps, then, only Victor had heard the pregnancy announcement.
They started the meeting, and Valla leaned back in his chair, unable to focus. How could he, when he was going to be a father?