It was not an overnight thing for either of them—how they came to feel for each other. They were two strong, stubborn people who clashed frequently, and the more affectionate—and not just passionate—he was towards her, the more secure she felt. She never backed down from him, never made it easier for him to be her Alpha, sometimes driving him to simply take her in the middle of an argument, just to shut her up.

Not that she let him get away with that, but she was necessarily mellower when she'd been covered by him.

They were each making the effort to be kinder to the other, but she was naturally much less combative when she was in estrus, which he did his best to keep her in, although not just for the respite that gave him.

But Ciaran awoke one morning and realized with a start that that hadn't happened to her in a good long while. He threw back the covers in order to see if he could find evidence to support his theory, and sure enough, her usually flat belly was more rounded than it had ever been.

He couldn't stop the grin that split his face from ear to ear as he placed his enormous hand over the slight bulge.

"I'll give you five seconds to remove your hand or you're going to withdraw a bloody stump—and I don't mean your big paw, either."

It was true that his cock—hard as always around her—was pressed against her hip. And that threat was almost enough to make him do as she said, but not quite. His mate was not a fan of mornings, he had discovered.

"You're caught," he whispered reverently, leaning down to kiss her there. "You're pregnant."

"I am," Ebby replied, as if it was no secret to her.

He sat up, full of indignation. "Why didn't you tell me, girl?"

Even now that she was full of his child, she was still not "woman" but "girl" to him. "I was going to, but you ruined the surprise."

"Oh."

He looked so dejected that she took pity on him, rolling over and onto him, taking him into her in one—still challenging but definitely rewarding—motion that had the both of them moaning.

As she began to move on him and his own intellect became severely threatened, he played with breasts that did feel a bit fuller than usual, and he ought to know.

"No more fighting training until after the birth," he pronounced.

Ebby pouted prettily down at him, but she couldn't maintain it because he felt too good.

Ciaran cupped her cheek in his palm and gazed up at her. "I like you a lot, you know."

She smiled. Neither of them had said that they loved each other, although it was probably true, perhaps more so on his part than hers, even. Although she was learning to settle into what was her place in his world.

"I like you, a lot, too," she panted.

He tucked her beneath him, and she was still awed at his size and strength as he took her, driving her beyond the pain that was inherent for her in their mating and shooting her into the stars while keeping her firmly anchored beneath him at the same time.

Ciaran began to purr to her as they slowly disconnected, and he leaned down to kiss her. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For the baby."

Ebby moved restlessly. "Don't thank me until you're holding it in your arms. You know how tentative omega pregnancies can be."

"Stop reading my books!" he mock yelled. "Which is why I want to take you to Vaudt's outpost when your time draws near. I would take you back to base, but I don't think we'd get there in time, and he's closer. Plus, his mate—"

"Has a clinic. I was there, too, you know…sort of."

"Wouldn't you enjoy being around women at a time like that?"

"Yes—at any time. You forget that I was raised by women."

Ciaran frowned. "I have never forgotten anything about you, little one, and I never will. Perhaps we should—once the child is born—return to the base. You might be happier there."

Ebby sat up on her elbow and looked down at him. "You—you would do that for me?"

He raised himself up, too, and stared down into her eyes as he threaded his big fingers into her hair. "I would do anything for you, my little omega, if you would just continue to look at me like you are right now."

The End