“I can’t wait to watch your belly swell.” I kiss the center of her ribs. “I want to see your breasts grow heavy for our baby.” I kiss the base of her neck. “I want to watch you start nesting in our house.” My lips move to her cheek. “I want you to tell me the crib is in the wrong place and make me move it.”
I find her mouth. The kiss is slow this time, soft. She kisses me back but doesn’t give me much.
I break the kiss and let out a sigh pressing my forehead to hers.
“I think I’m broken, Aaron.”
Everything in me stops. I lift off her forehead and look at her. “Why do you think that?”
She sits up and I follow her. She puts her palm flat against her belly, and her eyes are wet again.
“Meekah’s right.”
My teeth lock at the name and I keep my mouth shut.
“It’s been a full year of being mated, Aaron.” Her voice is thin. “And not even a scare, nothing. No shift in my scent.” Her lip trembles. “I think I’m broken. You have a broken mate.”
“FuckingMeekah?—“
“It’s not about him.” Her hand stays on her belly.
“What did he say to you?” I touch her wrist.
She shakes her head and pouts her lip, and I groan and run a hand over my face.
“It’s not you,” I say. “Mara. Nothing is wrong with you.Nothing.” Her head is already shaking.
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m not—“ I reach for her hand.
“I’m going to Wintermoon Medical,” she says, pulling her hand back.
My eyes snap up to hers.
“Tomorrow. I’m going to make an appointment. I can’t keep wondering?—“
“No.” It comes out too fast. Her head tilts in response. “No, no, you, you can’t do that, baby. Not yet?—“
Her brow pulls down. “Why not?”
I fall quiet for a moment. I have nothing.
“Just trust me,” I say, very quietly. “When I tell you it’s not you.”
Her tail has started to flap against the blanket behind her, slow at first, then faster. When she speaks her voice has gone dangerous. “Aaron. What are you not telling me?”
“We’ll talk about it this weekend.” I keep my voice level.
“Aaron.” Her tail cracks once, hard, against the mattress.
“We will.”
Her eyes narrow to slits. “Why can’t I make babies?”
I flinch, my whole shoulder moving with it. “We will talk about it this weekend, Mara.”
She stares at me. The next question is forming on her tongue, and I’m not ready for it. I can’t hold her eyes much longer without telling her the truth, and I’m not ready to tell her.
