Chapter Nine
Xander
Xander opened the door and groaned aloud when several voices drifted up to them.
Over the years since Liv had gotten her own lab, Kai and Ghost had added medical equipment and a triage section, so she could fix any odd injuries from an assignment. Liv had also self-trained, reading as many medical journals and any information she could find and even studied with a doctor to obtain emergency medical experience, detailed anatomy lessons, and tips that she couldn’t glean from a book. It was enough knowledge that she could perform surgeries with skill.
She had said that the more she understood human anatomy and their blood on a cellular level, then she could solve the differences between humans and immortals, and yet, the answers still eluded her.
Xander turned to Frost and watched as she smiled back at him. She had grown close to the others over the past few weeks, especially when he’d been researching code from breaking into computer systems. He loved how they welcomed her as though she’d always been a part of them.
She led the way downstairs, and he could tell when she had been spotted because Jade squealed a second before Frost was enveloped in a tight hug. Frost chuckled and hugged her back.
Jade ushered Frost to the exam table and easily lifted her up on it, treating her as if she were the most delicate being. Xander moved when Frost had, and stood by the table and reached for her hand.
Liv, impatient to know more, pushed everyone out of the way and came to stand in front of the two nervous parents.
“May I?”
When Frost nodded, Liv uncovered her stomach and there was a collective gasp from around the room. His gaze was on his mate’s swollen belly.
How had I missed this?
Several emotions ran through him, but nothing as prominent as how proud he was of his mate. He leaned down to kiss her, needing the connection.
“Are you happy?”
“More than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m so glad I finally found you,” he admitted.
The next few minutes were a whirlwind. Liv drew her blood and set Frost up to perform an ultrasound.
The room grew silent as Liv adjusted the picture of the baby on the monitor. They all stared as the barely developed feet and hands of the baby came into focus. Xander felt his heart beat hard in his chest at the sight and pressed a kiss to Frost’s forehead, keeping his eyes on the image the entire time.
Although they could hear the faint sound with their enhanced hearing, Liv turned on the sound and their baby’s heartbeat echoed throughout the lab as everyone gathered around the monitor. None of the immortals had ever believed that a baby was possible. Hell, Xander hadn’t even thought about protection whenever they made love, but he would forever feel a flare of happiness knowing that he’d been a part of bringing this little being into this world.
After checking and double-checking, Liv glanced up and met Frost’s gaze. “You’re about eight weeks along.”
“When will he be due?”
Liv patted her hand and Frost melted against him, relaxing at the vampire’s reassurance.
“It’s only a guess. But since you were already a half-shifter, your pregnancy schedule will be similar to a snow leopard’s gestation cycle, so your little boy will be born in three and a half months.”
Xander’s eyes widened and he turned to look at Frost. Most parents had much more time to prepare for a baby, but that didn’t bother him. He knew Frost would make a great mom and he would try to be a great dad, but he was curious about something else.
“We’re having a boy?”
“I don’t know for sure. But I have a sense that our baby is a boy, yes.”
He couldn’t keep the goofy smile off his face. Until Frost gasped and turned to Liv, gripping the vampire’s forearms and pulling her closer.
“What does this accelerated growth mean for him?”
Liv smiled in reassurance. “He will be perfectly fine. I estimate that he’ll be similar to Reaper and Xander. Bitten before they had become adults and they developed normally until they became of age. For some reason, when the shifter becomes an adult, the stasis takes over and they don’t age beyond that moment. He will grow up like any other baby and will be as immortal as the rest of them, but his full stasis won’t kick in until he’s of age.”
They both relaxed at the news.
Xander wasn’t the first to sense the sun starting to rise, but he knew that the vampires would need to retire soon. He wanted to take Frost home and download all the books on pregnancy he could find, even though their little man wasn’t going to arrive on a human timeline. He still needed any information he could get.
“Are you showing any other physical symptoms linked to pregnancy?” Liv asked.
What symptoms?
I had to pee, a lot, for the past two nights. Didn’t you notice that I got out of bed every two hours?
Yeah, but you always came back. Until tonight, but I didn’t think much about it.
Frost laughed, her nose wrinkled at him. He found it endearing.
“What symptoms?”
“Sore breasts?”
Frost shook her head.
“Fatigue?”
“Nothing serious.”
“Morning sickness?”
Frost flinched but shook her head.
“Heightened sense of smell?”
“Don’t think so. But I’m new to this shifter thing.”
“Cramps that spread out from your stomach?”
“Nope.”
“Strange dreams?”
“Nah.”
“Spotting?”
“No.”
Frost glanced at him and he turned his full attention to her. I have been increasingly horny.
And with that, he picked her up and started up the stairs.
Liv’s voice carried up to them when he had her halfway up the stairs. “Where are you going?”
“We’ll be back over tonight.” Xander paused for a moment before a question popped into his head. “Will claiming Frost do anything to harm her or the baby?”
“No. She already transitioned.”
“What about sex? Is it safe for her?”
Axel chuckled before the others joined in, but he smiled when Frost giggled against his chest.
“Yes, perfectly healthy.”
“Thanks. Later.”
Xander ran home faster than he ever thought possible, with Frost laughing the entire way home.