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I didn’t ask.
I guess I just assumed that with him being a demon and me being a human, we couldn’t have kids. Looking back, I’m not so surewhyI was convinced of that. If fate or Loki’s gods or whatever made it so that we were meant for each other, why wouldn’t we be able to have offspring of our own?
I just… I really thought we couldn’t. So I tucked that little hope up tight and never mentioned it to my mate in case it reminded him of something we couldn’t have, and all along he knew we could. Heknew, and he didn’t say anything because he must have figured that—from his essence—I did, too.
I’m not really mad at him. How can I be? But I’ve always been the type of woman who reacts first, thinking better about my actions after, and throw in some hormones from my newly-discovered pregnancy, and storming away is a very Kennedy thing to do.
I march up to our house, flinging open the door, slamming it shut behind me once I step inside. I sink down on the nearest piece of furniture in the den. Freya’s head jerks up, and as though she can sense my mood, she jumps down from her chair, nuzzling my boot before joining me on my chair. She scurries up to the top of it, her fluffy tail curling about the back of my neck.
Absently, I reach up, stroking her fur. That helps. My sweet little squirrel-cat, her soft chitters and twitching whiskers help a lot.
A moment later, the door creaks open, Shannon’s blonde head and cheeky smile peeking around the side of it.
Of course. That explains the lighter footsteps that had followed behind me.
“Can I come in?”
Five minutes ago, I would’ve been elated to see a fellow human. For it to be someone I actually know, I would’ve dragged her into the house so we could talk. So much about my last day in Earth makes sense once I realize that Shannon has her own Sombra demon mate. Her questions about the grimoire, the way she kept looking around the store… how I found her receipt marking the ‘true love’ spell that summoned Loki to me.
But that was five minutes ago.
Still, it was nice of her to come after me. And if she’s also pregnant, she’s probably the one person in either world who has any idea the emotions tearing through me right now.
“Yeah,” I say. “Go right ahead.”
She slips into the house, easing the door closed behind her. I can see her glancing around, marveling at the home I share with Loki, gawking at Freya, though she gets herself focused by the time she’s standing in front of me.
“So, uh, is this a ‘congratulations’ moment or should I start looking for something that could be used as a tissue?” Shannon starts patting the front pockets of her jeans, then the back. “I didn’t bring my purse or anything since, well,Sombra, but here.” Grabbing the edge of her sleeve, she yanks it down her forearm, stretching it out past her fingers.
Crouching low, she sticks it in my face. “Here. You need to wipe, use this.”
I don’t want to laugh. She sounds so earnest, and I’m on the edge of crying if only out of frustration, but as much as I don’t want to laugh, I can’t help it even as I tell her, “I’m good.”
“That’s a relief.” Shannon rises up, shoving her sleeve back to her elbows. “Sorry, but it’s fuckinghothere. I should’ve listened to Mal and worn a tank top if I knew we were visiting his hometown a bit.”
There’s so much I want to ask her. I want to know about her mate—about this Mal—and how she mentioned Nuit being his hometown. Going even further back, I’m dying to find out what it’s like with her mate. They obviously live back in the human world still, unlike me and Loki. Like, what’s that about?
But instead of all of that, I blurt out instead: “So… you’re pregnant.”
She doesn’t look surprised by my comment—or taken aback by how bluntly I said that.
“Yup.” She rubs her belly, as flat as I remember it from the last time I saw her. “Got me a half-Shannon, half-Mal baking inside of me. And you…” Her gaze dips to my lap. Yup. I don’t look any different either, so I’m not surprised when she asks, “How far along are you?”
My next laugh is a hollow one. “Honestly? You tell me. It could go back to the day I met him. My first time with Loki, I was so… I don’t know…”
“So distracted by shadow dick?” offers Shannon.
You could say that again.
“Something like that. Anyway, I never even thought about protection. Then, when we started being intimate more regularly, I figured it didn’t matter. He’s a demon. I’m human. It never occurred to me that we could get pregnant.”
Shannon’s eyes sparkle, reflecting the soft white light of the nearest magic orb. “Yeah. I thought the same thing, too. Then, surprise!”
Surpriseis definitely the word for it.
“But I still get my period. I missed one month, but I thought that was the stress getting to me. And look.” I pat my lower belly. I have a pooch, but I don’t look any different than I did months ago. “Loki’s fuckinghuge. If my baby is part demon, shouldn’t I have a big ol’ baby bump?”
“From what I understand you will. Eventually. It just… even when a demoness is knocked up, it takes some time for her to show.”
