A Strength to Admire
Holly
Holly had never really considered just how impressive Oxford really was. Sure, she knew of Oxford. She knew it was a really prestigious university in the UK. But that was about the extent of it. In her head, she compared it to Harvard or Yale.
But that comparison really didn’t do justice to just how storied and enduring the university truly was.
The chancellor of the university – the headest of honchos – was giving them a guided tour himself.
Oxford was nearly a thousand years old, and the proof was evident all around them in the incredible, old, and stunning architecture.
But it didn’t hold rigidly to that ancient theme because there were also incredibly modern labs in the science buildings.
It was beautiful. Astounding. Walking through it, Holly felt both like a ghost out of time seeing something completely misplaced in the modern world, but also like she was connected through her roots to the thousands, millions, of people who walked these paths before her.
She was having a great time.
But not nearly as much fun as Romival.
Her mate was fascinated by the university.
She couldn’t really blame him. The academy he worked at on Turv was leaps and bounds more advanced, but it didn’t have nearly the same history.
This university had witnessed world wars, the rise and fall of civilizations, and an untold number of lives.
There was something special here that couldn’t be recreated.
Holly wasn’t really interested in exploring the campus, but it made her mate happy, so she contentedly trailed along behind him.
She listened to the chancellor and translated the few spots her genius mate didn’t understand.
Though, after so long on Earth and all the practice he had speaking English, it really was just a case of new vocabulary words popping up every now and then.
Today, they were exploring the science buildings. Holly wasn’t really paying attention, however, because her daughter was doing summersaults in her belly.
Being pregnant had always been Holly’s goal. She wanted a big family. She wanted to be pregnant and, truthfully, she enjoyed it. Especially since she was carrying a domini pup. That alone made it so much easier.
There was no morning sickness, no excessive tiredness, no hormonal surges.
She did have to pee more often, but a baby weighing on her bladder was the same regardless of species.
She also had a craving for blood that had to be met with a pill while on Earth.
Her baby needed the iron and, while fresh blood was healthier, the pill was fine.
But the two biggest differences were the nesting instincts and the separation anxiety.
Holly had always preferred being safely ensconced in her home.
She didn’t need transplanted instincts from her fetus for that to be true.
Unlike Peony’s pregnancy, being able to return to her nest each night and wrap herself up in the familiar comfort and scents of the blankets and pillows seemed to suit her just fine.
The separation anxiety, however, was different.
Being unable to leave Romival’s side wasn’t really an imposition.
It was Holly’s absolute favorite place to be.
But it was incredibly powerful. She wasn’t sure if she was getting it worse than Peony, there might be some natural difference in severity among individual pregnancies, but Holly couldn’t stand to be away from Romival for longer than a couple hours.
Luckily, her mate didn’t mind.
As they toured Oxford, most of his attention was on the ancient university, but he was never so focused that he lost track of her.
If something caught her focus and she wandered off, he would trail after her. If she wanted to snuggle into his side, even if he was in the middle of a conversation, he would put his arm around her and hold her close. Let her sniff him.
It was his smell she needed. Not cologne, not soap. Him. Domini pregnancy didn’t make her nose extra sensitive like a human pregnancy would, but the scent of her mate was as vital to her as the blood she had to consume.
The instinct had something to do with needing her mate by her side to protect her during her pregnancy.
If she was a domini, she would have retreated into her nest long ago and refused to leave until the baby was a few years old.
She just wouldn’t want to. However, the human part of her wasn’t completely overridden by her transplanted instincts.
If she had worse separation anxiety, she also had less nesting anxiety.
She was rather grateful, because exploring Oxford was a lot of fun. They ate with important people in the college and stayed on campus. Although, calling it a campus was a bit reductive to the huge, sprawling colleges that made up the university.
“Are there any old academies on Turv?” She asked Romival later that night as they were getting ready for a gala style dinner.
It was formal, and she had chosen a blush pink, off the shoulder gown with an empire waist and extra fluttery bishop sleeves.
Her baby belly was cute under the fluttering, floor length skirt.
Her mate came up behind her, sliding his hands under her belly, lifting it and taking some of the weight as she groaned in relief, leaning back against him.
He was already dressed in a fine, gray suit with a pink tie and pocket square.
He looked great in human suits, but she really missed his long, flowing robes.
Her sexy wizard alien was undercover as a long haired, muscular, nerd.
Though he was lean and a bit short by domini standards, he was still huge compared to human men.
She loved how small and protected she felt in his arms.
“Our oldest academy is only half the age of this one,” he said, nuzzling the top of her head. “It’s in the far north, but none of the buildings are five hundred years old. They don’t keep the outdated architecture. There are old statues there, but that’s about it.”
“Do the domini not like keeping historical things like that? I thought you loved story telling. These old buildings tell a great story, don’t you think?”
“I would agree.” He adjusted his grip to hold her belly with only one hand as he reached onto the dresser.
They had been given a house to stay in while they were here, fully furnished.
He picked up the golden necklace she had chosen to wear and brought it up to place over her head.
“Seeing all this history, hearing the grand story around the buildings themselves, makes me think that maybe my people could learn to appreciate places just as much as people. As it is, however, we tell the stories of people. An old, outdated building is just a building, and it means nothing to most for us to break it down and build a better one in its place.”
Holly smiled as he pulled her hair out of the necklace. He settled it in place before taking hold of her belly with both hands again. One of his thumbs stroked gently along the lower side.
“You are so beautiful, vi Vakara,” he said, kissing her temple. “I love you so much.”
Holly beamed, tilting her head back and accepting his kiss with a happy laugh as she rested her hands over his. Both of them holding their daughter.
She still had some time before she was due. They could only guess exactly when since Peony was the only other person to birth a hybrid. However, using Peony’s delivery to estimate, she still had some months left before she would go into labor.
“Ready?” Romival asked when they finally broke the kiss. She just smiled back at him.
Romival
His mate was away from her nest again. And it was driving him mad.
According to what he read as he studied humans and their lives while on Earth, pregnancy symptoms varied wildly not only from female to female, but also from pregnancy to pregnancy.
So, the fact that Peony had been very nervous away from her nest and Holly seemed to be content returning to it only at night wasn’t unusual.
But it still scraped along his nerves like coarse sand.
The moment his female began showing her pregnancy, the urges to keep her close, keep her in her nest, and feed her had all risen in his gut as powerful as the need to drink or breathe. It was just part of him, and not one he could stop.
However, he could exert some control over it. He soothed himself by never letting her stray far from him and, at night, he made sure she was safely tucked into her nest and didn’t have to move again until late in the morning. It was barely enough.
Like hunger pains, he could be distracted from the feeling though. And that was exactly what was happening tonight.
The gala hosted by the deans and professors of Oxford in his and his mate’s honor truly was a wonderful opportunity.
He was eager to see what the different departments were going to present to them.
There would be music and art and science.
Students had been working tirelessly to make something to show off since they found out he would be coming.
Funny enough, it was very similar to exhibitions at the academy.
He was First Scholar. The students often worked to impress him.
Not because his approval would get them anywhere.
Domini society was a meritocracy, they could only advance on their own ability.
No, they simply admired him and desired his approval and attention.
It was very similar to what the human students were doing tonight. He was happy to see it. Not enough to forget his driving instincts to herd his mate back to safety, but enough to push it to the back of his mind as he and Holly went around the room.