AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Molev blinked at me. I could see how torn he was. He didn’t want to give up Ricky, but the idea of putting a baby in me had him by the bits.
“This is just a taste of what life will be like. Wanting me but not able to have your way with me because there’s a baby that needs taking care of. Are you going to be okay with that?”
He gave me a slow smile with heat and warning in his gaze.
“Very.”
EPILOGUE
Five years later…
I loungedon the picnic blanket and watched my brother chase after the kids under the shade of the towering tree. He wasn’t the only adult playing tag. Human and fey alike romped around with the horde of preschoolers.
“Drav is it!” Ricky yelled. Kids bolted in every direction, not that they could go far. Those watching them carefully kept them all corralled.
Molev slid in behind me, becoming my personal backrest as he kissed my temple and the side of my neck.
“Roni and Brog stole Tholin and Naomi,” Molev said. “I have no baby to hold. When will this one come?” He slid his hands over my giant belly, massaging it.
“No harassing the pregnant lady for the next baby for at least six weeks after birth, Molev,” Cassie said, passing by.
I twisted to look up at him. He frowned down at me, and I started laughing.
“I’ll do my best to talk this one into coming soon,” I said.
His hands drifted up to my breasts, rubbing them carefully.
“I can help.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to face the playing kids, and he slowly rubbed everywhere until I was a sighing puddle of relaxation.
Although I knew Molev would rock my world if I asked him to, it hadn’t been comfortable when we’d attempted it a few days ago. The midwife had checked me after and had silently communicated that I was a little dilated but the plug was still in place. Grateful for her discretion, I’d confidently reported to Molev that everything was fine and I was just closer to giving birth.
Most of the fey husbands went a bit overboard with anticipation when they heard things were dilated. Molev was one of them. Keeping things low-key preserved my sanity.
I set my hands over Molev’s when they paused on my stomach to feel the baby kick. If someone would have told twenty-year-old me that I would be doing my part to add to the world’s meager population in the decades to come, I would have laughed my ass off. But having babies and being a mom wasn’t the hardship I’d thought it would be. And I knew it was because I’d found the right partner. It helped that the earthquakes had ended the stereotypes of the patriarchal society I’d grown up knowing too.
“Waurlyn says that the delegates are asking to renegotiate their terms,” Molev said.
“I bet they are,” I said with a snort.
When we’d finally made contact with them four years ago, the people in charge of the sanctuary hadn’t been so willing to talk. They’d tried demanding the return of the research team like we’d been holding them hostage. It didn’t matter that the team members insisted they didn’t want to go or that all attempts at a synthetic cure had failed. They hadn’t believed a word of it. So, I’d told them to let us know when their supplies were low and they wanted to start kicking people off the island. It’d only taken them a week to get back to us.
My brother and the kids had been on the first aircraft of volunteers. That had been one of the last flights. Everything was by boat now. There were too few people left to warrant producing the fuel needed for flying. It wasn’t a lost technology, just a rare one.
“What do they want this time? More jet fuel?”
“Information,” Molev said. “They want to know how many hybrids there are.”
My gaze swept over the people around us. Almost all of the women had grey patches on their skin somewhere. Were we now considered hybrids?
“And what did you say?”
“Nothing. Waurlyn laughed at them and ended the call.”
I grinned. “I’m so glad Waurlyn’s on our side. When is she due for a visit?”
“In a few weeks. She’s in Canada now, meeting with the leaders there and learning how we can aid their recovery. She’s already reported that the survivors are struggling but not due to infected. They are fighting each other.”
