Chapter Eleven
Timalah
Miles moves around the kitchen with ease, a little pep in his step as he goes.
Warmth pools deep in my gut, a sense of belonging and home surrounds me.
This feeling is a first for me. That’s not to say I’ve ever felt alone, because I’ve always had my brothers and my Toralleh.
But Miles is different. He fills a space within my chest I hadn’t realized was empty until I found him. My beautiful, golden matron.
Christian helps Miles with preparing the food, the two of them joking and shoving at each other at every opportunity.
Their camaraderie reminds me of myself and Gendry when we were younger and training together.
My lips tick up without my permission at the sight.
I’m content. So incredibly content. But there’s still a thread of worry needling its way into my brain.
I still haven’t talked to Miles about our baby.
I’m not even sure he realized that’s a possibility.
Sure, there are other Layperry who walk around while pregnant, but that doesn’t mean Miles knew that I could get pregnant with our young.
Will Miles be as happy as I am?
“You are thinking loudly,” Ghenie murmurs, taking a sip of his drink, giving me a knowing look.
“Just a lot of my mind. Newly mated and all that.”
“Don’t think too hard,” Christian says, setting a dish down onto the table.
I breathe in the delicious scent, my mouth instantly watering.
It looks like Miles has made some sort of poultry dish with a sauce over it.
“I thought I smelled something burning in the kitchen but apparently it was just you overthinking in here.”
I look up at Christian unimpressed. In turn he rolls his eyes at me. I look over at my friend, finding the tiniest smile on his lips as he watches Christian. If I wasn’t so worried about my own relationship I would be teasing Ghenie about this almost thing he has with Christian.
Christian sits in his seat beside Ghenie while Miles sits beside me. His hand goes to my thigh and I can’t help but smile, the heat of his hand filling my belly with fluttering. My tail snakes across the distance between us, draping itself across Miles’ lap.
He smiles up at me, leaning over to kiss my cheek before digging into the food and dishing it to each person’s plate.
“It’s weird,” Christian says, poking at his food. “It’s kinda like chicken but also not quite.”
“What’s chicken?” Ghenie asks curiously.
“It’s like a bird type animal. It has feathers and a beak. But it’s not like this,” Miles explains. “This came from a rather large animal. While chickens are smaller.”
“Very interesting, Dorshkah. Thank you for explaining.”
“Hey,” Christian suddenly says, pointing his fork at me, his mouth full of food. “What’s that word you always call Miles?”
“Dorshkah?”
“Yeah, that.”
Ghenie snorts from his place beside Christian, shaking his head. “It’s a term of endearment. It’s because Miles has golden hair.”
Miles tilts his head. “Really?”
“There’s a bit more to it,” I say defensively. “You’re my golden, delicious nugget.”
Christian’s mouth hangs open for a moment before he’s snorting in amusement in a way I don’t understand. “Awesome,” he says with a shake of his head. “Your alien pet name is corn, Miles.”
“No, it’s not!”
“It totally is!”
“Don’t ruin my mate’s nickname for me, Christian! You’re such an ass!”
“And you’re such a corn on the fucking cob.”
Knowing they’re teasing each other, I sit back and smile, listening to the two of them fight.
I have no idea what corn is but Miles just called me his mate to his friend.
Of course he’s called me his mate since our mating, but that was just between the two of us, usually whispered while we made love.
This feels different, cementing our relationship and declaring it for anyone to hear without an ounce of hesitation or embarrassment.
“Stop smiling,” Miles says with a pout, shoving his elbow into my side.
“Be careful!” Ghenie says, his voice coming out harsher than Miles is used to. We all look to my Toralleh. My eyes widen. “Be gentle with your mate while he’s carrying, Miles.”
Christian makes a questioning sound but I only have eyes for Miles, taking in his face, looking for every reaction. It’s Christian who asks, “carrying what?”
“Yeah, Timalah,” Miles whispers. “Carrying what?”
Ghenie curses under his breath. “I’m sorry. I assumed he knew, Timalah.”
“Oh my gods,” Christian whines. “Knows what?”
The room is still, waiting for me to answer. It’s like all the air has been sucked out, leaving only tension and anticipation. Not wanting to put this off any longer, knowing putting it all on the table at once is the best way to move forward, I tell my matron. “I’m pregnant.”
There’s a long pause where no one speaks and I’m positive that if a needle fell to the ground, we’d all hear it. There’s a stillness to the room as everyone processes this news. Miles’ eyes widen for a moment in shock before his features all smooth out.
Through the bond we share, I can feel the waves of emotions Miles is feeling. Shock. Disbelief. And then wave after wave of awe and joy. The feeling steals my breath and without my permission, my eyes prickle with unshed tears. My matron is just as happy about this baby as I am.
“Oh,” he breathes out. My tail wraps around his thigh, squeezing gently. “Umm… wow. That’s just.” He pauses, like he’s processing everything before blowing out a long breath. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Christian asks, breaking our little bubble of stillness. I finally look away from Miles’ face to see Christian’s eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “You’re pregnant? I didn’t even know a human and a Layperry could make a baby together! Holy shit.”
He sits back in his seat, his face looking a little pale. Ghenie looks worried for a moment, reaching out towards Christian before pulling back, his hand clenching around nothing.
“You’re being a drama king,” Miles says with a pout. “I’m the one who’s just finding out I’m having a baby and you’re making it about you.”
That startles a smile out of Christian. “You’ve always known I was an ass, I never hid that from you.”
“You’re not wrong,” he says back, nodding to Christian’s food. “Go on. I don’t want your food getting cold.”
“Great. You’re already picking up the Dad baton.”
“You should show your friend some more grace. He made dinner and just got life changing news,” Ghenie murmurs under his breath to Christian.
“I’m just a little freaked out by this type of news.
What else are you guys hiding from us? What other stupid fucking traditions and hoops are there for us humans to jump through,” Christian hisses back at Ghenie.
Ghenie looks startled by the outburst but instead of answering, goes back to eating, the heights of his cheekbones turning a pale pink color that’s so stark against his usual white skin.
Miles gives Christian a look and of course, in a gesture I’m coming to realize is just Christian being Christian, he rolls his eyes. “Don’t even,” he grits out, shoving a huge bite of food into his mouth.
“I never thought anything like this would happen,” Miles says softly, looking up at Christian with a smirk. “We didn’t really have the best plan, to be honest.”
Christian finally looks more like himself, grinning at Miles. “We were wasted when we decided to fill out the application. We didn’t even remember we’d done it in the morning, too busy throwing up pizza from the night before.”
Miles shakes his head. “Gods, we were such idiots. It started as a fucking joke and look at us now.”
“That seems incredibly irresponsible,” Ghenie says, his brows wrinkled. “You filled out your Exchange applications while under the influence. That sounds quite dangerous, to make such a life changing decision while you’re not even in control of your wits.”
Christian’s eyes narrow once more and I barely hold a sigh back. “It turned out okay, didn’t it? Some things are just human tradition. Like making dumbass mistakes while drunk.”
My heart clenches when I think about either of these humans thinking coming here could ever be a mistake.
My life is so much more enriched because I know them, and yes, I mean Christian as well.
Miles sends a wave of emotion towards me, soothing the bit of worry I’m feeling.
He doesn’t think this was a mistake and I hold onto that feeling.
I squeeze Miles’ leg with my tail and he gives me a reassuring smile. We eat our food, the only sounds in the room are our chewing and scape of silverware against plates. Finally, Miles clears his throat.
“So,” he says carefully. “I’m curious. Is this something that can happen with anyone? The whole, getting pregnant thing?”
I swallow my mouthful. “Yes. Any Layperry is capable of carrying. It’s a great honor, to carry the next generation.”
“Do you guys have like super sperm?” Christian blurts out. “Could you get a human pregnant?”
Ghenie shakes his head. “It doesn’t work like that, Pruist.”
Christian’s eyes narrow. “What does that word mean? Since we’re apparently having education hour with our dinner.”
Ghenie looks over at me. Pruist is a type of flower. On the outside, it’s thorny and harsh, but once you pull the thorns away, you find a sugary blossom inside. “It probably means asshole,” Miles hisses out, “since after all, you are a self proclaimed asshole.”
Ghenie lets out the breath he was holding and I can’t help but wonder what the hell is going on with the two of them. They seem to constantly push each other’s buttons. But at the same time, I’m not blind, I can see the way they look at each other. I hum to myself, turning to Miles.
Thank you, I send towards him, my stomach swooping when he smiles in understanding. His hand finds my tail, holding onto it, his thumb running over the flared end. I hold back a shiver as he keeps up the motion. He has no idea what he does to me, no idea how crazy he makes me.
I can’t wait for them to leave, Miles sends back to me, looking at me through his lashes.
I get his meaning right away and heat flares up inside of me.
Not for the first time, I’m blown away with the thought that I get to have him.
And as much as I’d like to be sugar sweet with him, my brain seems to short circuit as he runs the tip of his nail across the sensitive skin of my tail.
I look up at him, finding a smug smirk. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Just then, Christian stands up. “Time to bring out dessert.”
I try my damndest not to let him see my disappointment at the thought of Christian and Ghenie staying for dessert. My mate snorts at me, shaking his head at the emotions I must be sending through our bond. He gives my tail one last squeeze before standing up and helping Christian bring out dessert.
My cock will just have to wait for our friends to leave.