by Regine Abel
“Remember how I said Xelixian fetuses need the presence of their sires to grow healthy and how I almost didn’t survive because my father died during my mother’s pregnancy?”
She nodded.
“That rule is even truer when the child is sick as he draws strength from both parents. When we separated because of the raid, I missed you so much it hurt. That second night after the raid, although we were both on the verge of exhaustion, I came back to the Tempest because I felt physically ill being away from you.”
“Oh Goddess,” she whispered, a faraway look settling on her features as she thought back on that night. “I was so miserable from missing you that I’d wrapped myself in your shirt, just to be surrounded by your scent. So that was all him?”
“The physical discomfort was him, but I personally did miss you. You’re all I think about.”
Her face lit up with love, and she sank her fingers in my now ridiculously long hair. Khel would give me an earful when next I returned home. I didn’t care.
Aleina pulled my head down and we exchanged a slow, deep, and tender kiss. Resting our foreheads against each other’s, we savored a silent moment of closeness. I wished we were naked, not for any sexual reason, but it made us feel like one, no barriers, no distance. Unfortunately, Minh could call any minute, although it would probably be more than an hour or two.
Aleina sighed and cast a glance at the crate of ryspak.
“Hungry?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Not hungry, no. But…”
“Craving?”
“I guess?”
I grinned and rose to my feet, still holding her in my arms.
“I can walk, you know?” she said half-amused, half-annoyed.
“I know, but I like carrying you.”
Settling her down on the chair at the breakfast table, I grabbed a plate and knife from the hidden shelves by the table, then reached for four ryspak from the crate.
“You know, I’m surprised I didn’t get the crazy cravings Amalia and Valena did. Do you think—?”
“No,” I interrupted, while peeling the fruits. “Seven weeks is usually when the gorging begins. You’d already been eating ryspak before you conceived and, with Khel’s exceptional recent harvest, you’ve been consuming even more of it than usual. So you’ve had more than enough to meet the baby’s needs.”
Aleina nodded slowly, munching absentmindedly on the slice of ryspak I’d given her.
“It’s a blessing you got me hooked on ryspak when you did. I can only imagine how much sicker our son would have been if…”
Aleina stopped talking, her eyes widening as if in sudden comprehension before snapping down to the half-eaten slice of ryspak she held between three fingers.
“What is it, Sameha?” I asked.
“They didn’t eat ryspak,” she whispered. “Varrek didn’t give any ryspak to the Sisters he forced to mate with Xelixians. Even the Xelixians didn’t receive any during their captivity. The quantities he would need to supply the Xelixians alone would raise flags and require him to justify how he intended to use them.”
Gharah’s blood!
“Whereas the quantities needed only to supply the rare cases of expecting mothers would be negligible,” I concluded for her.
“Exactly,” she said, running a nervous hand through her hair, while her eyes sparkled with excitement.
My own excitement rose. She was onto something.
“I’d been wondering what the difference between them and us was,” Aleina said, popping the remaining piece of ryspak into her mouth and accepting the next slice I gave her. “There was none, except for me eating ryspak long before I conceived. Both Amalia and Valena had been eating it at every meal for weeks before they became pregnant, and Valena lost her first son when they switched her to that replicated ryspak.”
Ryspak was renowned for its anabolic properties. It would make sense for it to strengthen the Veredians’ reproductive system. We sent another message to Minh with our speculations so that he could take them into account during his analysis.
With that task completed, I resumed feeding my mate the precious fruit that could be one of the keys we had been seeking.
“There’s something else we need to discuss, Aleina,” I said, hoping the rational side of her would override the oversensitivity of her hormonal imbalance.
She gave me an inquisitive look while nibbling on another slice of the fruit.
“For the remainder of your pregnancy, and especially until the baby is healthier, you will need to rest, avoid stress and dangerous situations.”
Aleina clenched her jaw, her face losing its softer expression. Casting her eyes down as if to hide her true feelings from me, she plucked at the partially eaten slice of ryspak with her fingertips.
“I am not an irresponsible mother, Ghan,” Aleina said with a clipped tone. “I do not intend to go into battle or to lead raids while our baby’s life rests in my hands. That didn’t even need to be mentioned.”
I sighed, wondering if I could have worded that better.
“I know you’re not, my love, but you are under a lot of stress with a tremendous amount of responsibilities. We’ve been getting bombarded left and right with one challenge after another and have been forced to take action on the fly. I’m merely bringing it up now because you will need to assign someone to take over some of your duties. It will be easier to tackle while things are quiet rather than right in the middle of a crisis.”
“That still wouldn’t make me forget my duty to my child,” she bit back. “Don’t worry, I will sit safely on board like a good little girl while you’re off to save the world on my behalf.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You find me funny?” she asked, her temper rising.
“Right now, yes,” I answered truthfully while wondering if I had a death wish. “I’ve never met anyone with such an aversion to not being in control.”
Aleina rolled her eyes with exasperation and looked away.
“There we go again…” she said, bitterness creeping into her voice.
She tossed the piece of ryspak she’d been torturing into her mouth and chewed on it as if she was picturing herself chewing my face off instead. I bit back another smile, finally understanding what Lhor meant every time he said Amalia looked adorable whenever she would get angry with him.
“Except, you’ve got it all wrong, my love. I won’t be saving the world because I won’t be leading any missions either.”
Her head snapped back toward me. Surprised, she studied my face as if my features would reveal my meaning.
“Have you forgotten how I almost died because my father did before I was born?”
Her jaw dropped and her golden eyes widened with understanding.
“You may be the one carrying him, but our child’s welfare depends just as much on me keeping myself safe until his birth. So there won’t be any heroic missions or battles for me either for I, too, will be sitting safely onboard, like a good boy.”
All aggression bled out from her and she appeared somewhat embarrassed by her outburst. I reached across the table to grab her hand.
“I’m not trying to antagonize or control you, Sameha. I’m only suggesting you do the same thing I’ll be doing tomorrow, which is assigning replacements for situations I can’t engage in for the sake of our little one so there’s no last minute scrambling to figure out who takes point.”
She nodded and gave me a sheepish look.
“You’re right, I’ll do that. I’m sorry I’m such a pain lately.”
“It’s okay, love,” I said pulling her from her chair onto my lap. “We each have our roles. “You carry the baby, I weather your mood-swings.”
She chuckled and playfully slapped my shoulder.
“Silly male. I love you.”
“And I love you,” I said, leaning in to capture her lips.
* * *
As expected, it took a little over two hours for Minh to respond. Whi
le waiting for William’s search for Varrek, we would remain in range of the Venus Hive pleasure barge, which meant our communications would remain this delayed for the next few days, until we could finally head back home.
“Aleina,” Minh said, “I understand why you would be so upset, but this news is wonderful and your results could be the breakthrough we’d been hoping for. Your assumption is genius, and I believe you might be right. If your supplies permit, I would recommend all or at least a few of the Veredians romantically involved with a Xelixian begin eating ryspak regularly. The Sisters currently here on Xelix Prime for the meet-and-greets will start immediately including ryspak in all of their meals. A few couples have formed and will provide additional testing data.”
“I wish we could speak directly, because there is something really strange going on with your latest blood samples when compared to the last time I had taken blood from you a little over six months ago. I requested more detailed samples from Imelda within minutes of receiving the first ones and there’s something unexplainable for which I hope you will have answers.”
Minh shuffled a few items on his desk before turning back toward the camera.
“Your blood contains a large amount of Korlethean markers which I’ve only found in second generation Veredians. You didn’t have them in any of your previous blood tests. Do you have any idea how you came to have them?”
Aleina and I exchanged a stunned look, both at a loss.
“Also, I’ve compared them to samples from Amalia and other second generation females. Your markers are bigger and stronger than your second generation Sisters, but they are smaller than Amalia’s. I suspect ryspak could be the reason yours are bigger, and in Amalia’s case, her mates being Geminate enhanced hers further. But I will need samples from any second generation that might have also been consuming ryspak regularly for comparison.”
“There are a dozen Veredians here who had been forced to enhance the Xelixians captives for Bliss. The males had to regularly inject them with Thylin to increase the potency of their oxytocin. Eight of the Sisters are second generation and all of their Korlethean markers are slightly bigger than other Veredians but smaller than yours. So I’m speculating that a combination of ryspak and Thylin is required on a second generation Veredian to obtain results similar to yours. Now we just need to understand how you came by your markers.”
Minh rubbed his palms over his face, looking both overwhelmed and excited.
“I’m assuming Ghan is with you. Son, I would like you to inject Aleina with a small dose of your Rhykin venom every day. Normally, you would only give both your venoms every other day to your mate to help the development of the baby, but where Thylin helps reinforce the immune system, Rhykin helps fight back infections, harmful toxins, and boosts neurological activity. But make sure to gauge the toxicity level of your venom first. Don’t forget that Aleina’s oxytocin has been enhancing you as well.”
I had been carefully monitoring my Thylin venom’s toxicity, not so much my Rhykin since I rarely used it. Putting my mouth on some enemy I intended to kill never ranked too high on my list of favorite things to do. A sword and blaster could do as effective a job without me having to sink my fangs into some unwashed or foul-tasting foe.
“Please send me thorough blood analysis every day, and come home as soon as possible. Imelda said it had been a close call. Without the Braxian’s warning, we might have realized too late that the baby existed and was in distress. She said he is surprisingly strong despite his condition and believes she can keep him thriving until your return. But do not dally. If things take a turn for the worst, Maheva and Zhara might be his only chance. They are your best healers. You both take care and keep strong. We’ll speak again soon.”
This message left both Aleina and me reeling. Our baby was at risk, yet he had a fighting chance. Moreover, he could be the final clue that would lead us to the cure for Veredians’ fertility issues.
Aleina frowned. “Rhykin every day and Thylin every other day? That’s sounds like a ridiculously high amount.”
I smiled and caressed her cheek in reassurance.
“Do not worry about addiction, love. Once every two days is standard during pregnancy. The baby will absorb most of both venoms. Contrary to Thylin, my Rhykin venom isn’t addictive, so there’s no risk with me injecting you daily with it.”
I reached for her hand, intending to pull her onto my lap, but she anticipated my intentions. Aleina rose from her chair, walked the couple of steps between us, and then settled down on me.
“According to my niece, you had a pronounced aversion to being hugged which drove her to do specifically that at every opportunity. Yet you, Sehr, are the biggest cuddler I’ve ever met.”
“Touching and holding you is my addiction. Can you blame me? You are my goddess.”
She smiled and rubbed her nose against mine.
“And would it be so bad for you to become addicted to my Thylin? We are bound together for life anyway.”
“We are. But without the addiction, you know that I’m here because you are my heart and soul, not coerced by some biological anomaly.”
My chest warmed as I gazed upon my mate’s beautiful face. I once more gave thanks to the Goddess for my countless blessings.
“I love you, Aleina.”
“I love you, too, my mate.”
CHAPTER 21
Aleina
After careful reflection, we eventually figured out how I could have come to have those Korlethean markers inside me. After the Axios debacle, I had lost a tremendous amount of blood which required blood transfusion. The donors had been second generation. With me starting to consuming ryspak on a regular basis in the days that followed and Ghan giving me the occasional dose of Thylin once we began our relationship, the markers still in my system thrived.
Over the next two days, Imelda kept a close eye on our son’s progress. He was getting sick again, but we agreed not to perform too frequent healings so he didn’t worsen as had been the case with previous Korlethean hybrid male pregnancies. After each healing, the fetus would sicken again but faster and more acutely.
Following many discussions, to increase the presence of Korlethean markers in my system, we also decided to give me daily small blood transfusions from second generation females that were not involved with any Xelixians. We didn’t know how other males’ Thylin could affect me or the baby.
On the third day, the fetus’ sickness stopped progressing.
That same day, William contacted us to say they had located Varrek’s base on one of the farming moons of Keleini. It would be a forty-eight hour flight to reach it, giving us the time needed to plan the attack.
On the fourth day, my son’s illness regressed.
We couldn’t say for sure if the Rhykin or the blood transfusions were responsible, but whatever the cause, it was working. On the fifth day, the eve of the raid, Imelda confirmed that my son showed no more signs of distress. His vitals were strong and getting stronger. Our boy was healthy.
Seeing tears leaving a trail down the cheeks of my ever stoic Ghan undid me. I broke down and bawled my eyes out with joy and relief, expelling the festering fear that had been gnawing at my soul at the thought we might lose him. Until he was born, there would be no guarantee, but for the first time, we both truly allowed ourselves to hope.
At last, both Xelixians and Veredians onboard the ship could freely express their congratulations and speak openly of my pregnancy. Ghan eventually had to put a stop to all the hugs and embraces I was getting for fear they’d end up squishing the baby. He hadn’t left my side since discovering our son’s existence. But as the baby’s health improved, the almost painful need for proximity with Ghan faded and the emotional rollercoaster I’d been riding for the past eight weeks seemed to finally come to a stop.
The Goddess willing, it would last.
With Eryon’s collaboration, Minh devised a serum which he injected to a volunteer test group of first generation Veredians to see
if they would acquire the Korlethean markers without blood transfusion. He also gave them a small, diluted dose of Bliss, taken from the massive stock confiscated from Varrek’s fortresses. They would provide the Sisters with a shot of Thylin twice a week without having to involve any Xelixian male. Between Bliss, the serum, and large daily consumption of ryspak, we hoped to get them to show similar results to mine.
After going one last time over our plans for the attack in the morning, Ghan and I read Lenora a bedtime story before tucking her in for the night. The guarded look in her eyes didn’t go unnoticed. She no doubt wondered if we would pull away from her now that we had a child of our own on the way. It changed nothing for me. In my heart, Lenora was already my daughter. But Ghan and I would need to discuss it and make concrete plans now that we also had a son thrown into the mix.
As per custom, my mate and I showered together. I would never tire of the perfection of his body, with its rippling muscles thrumming with power, and bulging veins. Staring at him while he finished drying me, I ran my fingers through the short waves of his dark hair. He kept complaining it was too long. If I had my way, he’d grow it almost as long as Lhor’s, so it would fall just at his shoulder line. Khel would object. As a military officer, he’d be expected to keep it short, especially to avoid giving enemies something easy to grab. However, he could have it properly constrained, as my Sisters did, when in the exercise of his duties.
I’d have to sweet talk the General into allowing it.
Leading Ghan by the hand out of the fresher, I walked straight to the dresser and opened the second drawer. I fished out the magnetic shackles, grabbed his hand, and placed them in his palm before curling his fingers over them.
He stilled, his eyes boring into mine, searching.
“Teach me how to let go,” I whispered.
“Are you sure?”
“Tomorrow, during the raid, and for the foreseeable future, I will have to sit my butt down on deck while everyone else is having fun. So yeah, I think right now is a very good time to start because, ready or not, I’ve got to let go.”