EPILOGUE
“Are you sure?” Kate asked Privanax, staring at the Luxirian doctor. “Like one hundred percent sure?”
Of course, she’d already had her suspicions, which was why she’d come to the labs in the first place. She’d had Vaxa drop her off on his way to a council meeting and said that she would get a ride back to their house. It wasn’t an abnormal request since Kate had been helping Privanax quite often with his research. The doctor wanted to know every little thing about her species, and even though some of his inquiries embarrassed her, she was glad to be of some help to him.
It had only been a few weeks since the mating ceremony and during that time, Kate had been settling in nicely and finding her own place in their world. After she’d told Vaxa that she would stay with him, and after he finally stopped distracting her with sex, she’d told him that she needed something to do on Luxiria. She didn’t want to sit around the house all day while he went about his duties. It would drive her crazy.
So, shortly after she’d told him about her job on Earth at the publishing house, he’d assigned her to their archives in the center of the city. When Vaxa had first brought her there, she’d fallen in love. It was a grand hall filled to the brim with ancient scrolls and books about Luxirians and their histories and stories of the Fates. Of course, she couldn’t read any of it, but with the help of the archivist, an older Luxirian woman named Bruxilia, whom she was quite fond of, she was learning the Luxirian language little by little, learning to recognize spellings of some words even though they were difficult for her to pronounce. Bruxilia kept her busy with other tasks and Kate returned home at the end of each day with pride.
“Are you questioning my ability to read my own Coms, lavrix’an?” Privanax retorted. Kate was quickly learning that the doctor could get a little prickly when he wanted to be.
Kate bit back a grin but then let out a long breath, looking down at her stomach. She hadn’t had her period since she was back on Earth and she knew that it had been longer than a month. But it went beyond that. She’d just…known.
“Well, I guess I won’t be needing this anymore,” she murmured, raising her wrist, which still held the birth control band that Privanax had put on her before Vaxa had taken her to rah-vrax-tour.
“No, you will not be,” he replied simply, reaching out to take it off. She rubbed her bare wrist. Kate would be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved. Vaxa had started glaring at the band when he thought she wasn’t looking, as if he loathed its very existence. “We will need to monitor your health closely, lavrix’an. This child will be a first for Luxirians…and for humans. We need to ensure your safety and make sure your body can withstand the demands of a Luxirian young.”
“I understand,” she said softly. She should be frightened at the prospect of having an alien child, but she wasn’t. It was just one more reason why she knew she’d made the right choice in staying. She hadn’t regretted her decision at all and Vaxa reminded her every day through his actions why she’d chosen him over her home planet.
“Have you told the Prime Leader about your suspicions?” Privanax asked, running some sort of metal tube over her body, glancing at his Com every few moments.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I wanted to be sure before I told him.”
“Your pregnancy is in the very early stages. Luxirian females carry—or used to carry—our young for only three lunar cycles. You said that humans have a nine lunar cycle pregnancy?”
“Yes,” she said. Only a three month pregnancy?
Sign me up, she thought.
“We will monitor how quickly the young develops,” he said, sounding positively gleeful, like a kid in a candy store. “This will change everything, lavrix’an. You do realize this, correct?”
“I do,” she murmured, placing a hand on her stomach, wondering when she would begin to show. Privanax finished up with his tests and she smiled softly, hopping off his examination table. “Well, it seems you were right.”
“How so, lavrix’an?”
“You told me that sometimes the Fates know what’s best, even if you don’t see it at the time,” she said, placing a hand on his arm in a goodbye.
“The Fates always have a plan, lavrix’an,” was his answer. “And they have answered all of our prayers this span.”
* * *
Kate was waiting for Vaxa on the terrace later that night when he landed his hovercraft. Her body hummed at the sight of him and he made a growling sound, quickly approaching her before kissing her in greeting.
“It seems my female has been wanting this span,” he murmured. “I thought this morning would have been enough to keep you satisfied until my return.”
She flushed, remembering their activities in the bathing pool, remembering the feel of his mouth suckling on her clit. Her fingers traced over the hard lines of muscle braiding his arms.
“I have something to tell you,” she said. It was dark outside, but the light from inside their house gave the terrace a soft golden glow. Above them, the stars were bright, foreign constellations twinkling. She wondered if Earth’s sun was one of them. The city below was quiet and Kate had to admit that this was her favorite time of day, when Vaxa was relieved of his duties and she felt proud of a hard day’s work and when they were together, just the two of them.
Vaxa frowned, clearly thinking that something was wrong, but she smiled, smoothing out his brow.
“Vaxa, I’m pregnant.”
A sharp breath hissed out of his nostrils and she grinned at the utter shock on his face. “Rebax?”
Rebax meant ‘repeat’ in Luxirian, so it really meant more like ‘what?’ He’d changed languages and he hadn’t even realized. Her grin widened.
“Privanax confirmed it today. I missed my period and…I just had this feeling. And well, I’m pregnant!” she laughed, happy to finally be able to tell him.
“Luxiva,” he growled, pulling her to him, touching his forehead against hers, cradling her face in his large palms. Her heart absolutely melted whenever he did that. “Luxiva…this is good news indeed,” he said quietly, his voice roughened from the emotion she felt inside him.
Over a month ago, she’d been living a life on Earth, unaware that bigger things awaited her in this vast universe. And now, she was mated to the Prime Leader of Luxiria, pregnant with his child, building a new life on a new planet…and most importantly, she was happy.
And she knew it was only the beginning.
* * *
Vaxa’an held his sleeping female close, stroking the soft skin of her belly, knowing that his young was protected safely inside. His chest burned with an emotion he hadn’t thought possible, knowing that he would do anything for his Kat, knowing that he would gladly give his life for hers and for his child.
It was a humbling emotion.
The knowledge that she was pregnant came at a welcome but troubling time. Vaxa’an had not told her much about his dealings with the council, but there was talk of rebellious factions in a few of the outposts. Some Luxirians were not as accepting of his human mate as others were and he knew that his position as Prime Leader would be challenged, just as Kirov had first predicted.
He would need to prepare for the fighting pit if he was challenged. Luxirians worshipped strength and he would need to remind those rebellious few that he had earned his place as Prime Leader.
And he also had another decision to make, one that had been plaguing him since his conversation with Kat during the last night of their ravraxia, where she’d questioned why he hadn’t helped the other females at the Pit.
The Com next to the sleeping platform beeped, signaling Lihvan’s prompt arrival and Vaxa’an carefully extracted himself, ensuring that his luxiva was warm and covered before shrugging on coverings, and padding silently from their quarters.
Lihvan waited for him on the terrace in front of his dwelling. The night was cool and still. Vaxa’an took a deep breath of the fresh air, letting it settle in his lungs.
“Thank you for coming, my friend,” Vaxa’an said, looking at his scarred war general, one of the few Luxirians he trusted with his life. “I know it is a long journey to your outpost, but I wanted to speak with you outside of the council.”
“You know that I would do anything you ask of me,” Lihvan answered, his eyes taking in the view from the terrace.
“I know.”
“Have you decided? Whatever it is that you want me to do?” Lihvan questioned, his gaze unwavering as he turned to face him.
“Yes.”
Without hesitation, his war general asked, “Then what are my orders, Prime Leader?”
“Gather all information on the Krevorags and start selecting your best warriors from your outpost,” Vaxa’an replied, briefly glancing back to his dwelling before facing his friend. “In private. I do not want to notify the council yet.”
Lihvan straightened. “What is my objective?”
“Infiltrating the Pit.”
End of Book One