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“Eden! It’s so good to see you.”
“You, too.” I hugged her back.
Inside my chest, something tight eased. I’d known her since I was a kid, and it was nice to see someone who seemed happy I was home.
“So,” the midwife said in her blunt way. “I hear you’re preggers. Come on back.”
Leading me into the examining room, she asked me a few questions, then had me undress so she could “check things out,” as she said, joking with me the entire time like we were having a girls’ night out or something.
For the first time, I saw and heard the baby’s heartbeat. I stared at the ultrasound image, awed at this evidence of a person growing inside me.
This was really happening.
I was having a baby.
Talon’s baby.
Olivia moved the ultrasound wand to another place on my abdomen. “Would you like to know the gender?”
My mouth hitched up. “I think I figured it out.” That appendage at the base of his belly was unmistakable.
“A boy,” she confirmed. “Sometime in the middle of February, give or take a week.”
“A boy.” I drew a slow inhale. “Okay.”
Somehow, I’d figured I’d was having a girl. Growing up, it had been just me and Freya.
“Congratulations.” A grinning Olivia shut down the machine and wiped the gel off my stomach.
“Thank you?” It came out like a question because panic had screwed itself into my insides. What did I know about raising a boy? And a half-vampire boy at that?
My conversation with Jasper came back to me. I’d been thinking about it ever since this morning, actually.
This is Lilith Island. Trust me, the real world is nothing like this.
I’d be a human mom with a dhampir son. A little boy who could eat human food but required blood to thrive.
Maybe I’d been wrong to think we’d be better off elsewhere. I mean, I would’ve figured it out. Whatever my baby needed, I would’ve given it to him. Hopefully.
But maybe staying on Lilith Island, trying to make a family with Talon, was best for my baby.
“He’s a dhampir?” Olivia asked, echoing my thoughts.
“Yeah.”
“Lieutenant Talon’s?”
“Yes.” I caught her hand. “But promise me you won’t tell my mom and dad. I want to tell them myself. Don’t even tell them you saw me, okay?”
I did want to tell my parents myself, but I was more worried about my dad, and what he’d do if he heard I was home. Nothing scared him, especially where me and Freya were concerned. He’d come to the castle and raise hell, demanding to see me, and if the syndicate refused, God knew what he’d do.
“Who you tell is none of my business,” Olivia said. “I’m here to make sure you have a safe, healthy delivery, and that’s all. Right now I can tell you that you and your little guy are doing great. Now get dressed and we’ll talk about what comes next.”
A few minutes later I exited her office armed with pamphlets and more prenatal vitamins—her special blend for dhampir babies—as well as instructions to eat right and get moderate exercise.
She followed me into the hall. “I’ll want to see you again in four weeks. I’ll set it up with Talon. And Eden?” Her gray eyes creased in a reassuring smile. “It will be okay. You’ll see. Call me anytime you need me—I’m here. Night or day.”
“Thank you,” I said, still absorbing the fact that I was going to have a baby boy. Clutching the small bag with the vitamins and pamphlets, I headed back into the waiting room—and froze.
