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I shove away my extreme horniness and take a big breath, setting down my spoon. “I made a promise that helped me save someone’s unborn child. It was really messy. They made mistakes and had to atone and… it’s a long story and I don’t think I can give out too much detail, but we performed a spell that puts that child in a safe place until his mother can safely carry him.”
“All right,” he says. I know he doesn’t get it.
I continue, “It’s to do with the woods where we… where I… you know.”
His eyes flash. He knows I’m talking about the entity that haunted those woods.
I continue. “I promised his fated mate that I would carry their baby if I couldn’t get him back to her. They made some mistakes and had to pay a toll. It’s a pretty harsh one too. Sometimes that’s how magic works.”
“I get that you’re drawing parallels here between them and us. But not sure I get it completely, babe. Surrogacy?”
“A supernatural surrogacy. I made it so I can accept the pregnancy if something stops her from being able to carry, such as her death. I can’t become pregnant any time soon just in case I have to do that.”
“So, if we hadn’t gotten together and that happened there’d be a birth, an immaculate conception sort of thing?”
“I’d just be a host. He’s already been conceived; I moved him from her womb and he’s in a state of pause in a safe place in the fae realm. They allowed me to use it twice. I won’t be able to use it a third time. He’s safe until he either gets put back into his mother’s body, or he’ll go into mine.”
“I see,” Riley says carefully, looking like he’s considering this for a moment, then asks, “Why’s it your responsibility to carry their baby?”
“It’s not. Or… it wasn’t. But I offered. So, now it is.”
He regards me without saying anything, so I continue.
“I won’t break that promise.”
“Pretty big sacrifice, promising someone that.”
“I never make promises lightly. That couple has been through a lot. Like… a lot a lot. And I don’t know if she’ll survive where they are now. It’s a long story, Riley, but they’re locked somewhere now and when it’s time for them to come out, I’ll find out if I need to carry their baby.”
“What if you go into heat? Because now that we’re mated, it could happen. In fact, it will happen. It’s just a matter of when.”
“I know that there are heat cycles that go with the moon when mated to a shifter. Or that just go because of biology. I didn’t expect this.”
“This?”
“Us. I didn’t know when I’d have to come face you, although when I did that, I did suspect it’d be soon. And I really didn’t expect you to want anything other than to sev – end our bond. I guess I would ask you to try really hard to not impregnate me.”
He snickers. “Not sure it works that way.”
“We could use birth control.”
He shakes his head. “Won’t react well with heat mixed with my chemistry. It put Ivy’s life in danger. Nobody knew she was on the birth control pill until it was almost too late. She got real sick. So sick, Ty thought he was gonna lose her.”
I’m about to tell him I’m talking about condoms, but he speaks again.
“Is there some way to keep this unborn child safe if you get pregnant until after you’ve given birth to our baby?”
“If Isabella is dead when we bring her back to this realm, their child will immediately be in my uterus. I’ve already cast the spell. When I write spells, I have to have all contingencies figured out, but… I didn’t think of this contingency.”
“Why not?” he asks.
“I thought there was no hope for you and me,” I admit. “I thought you’d just see me as an enemy. I knew there was a possibility you might even have found someone else to spend your life with.” I swallow hard.
He bares his teeth.
I shrug.
He sighs. “What if you’re already pregnant when this happens? If she dies…”
“I… don’t know. I have to research that.”
“I’m not saying I don’t respect the promise you made, but when an alpha goes into the rut, baby…” He gives me a pointed look. “I don’t need to tell you this. You’ve been here the past six days with me.”
I twist my fingers in my lap. “See, I made this promise knowing there was a good chance I’d have to face you before things got resolved with that other situation, but I’ve always been so sure you’d sever our bond. I only hoped you and I would part on cordial terms so that it’d build me some good will and I could use that good will to help that couple even further.”
