Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 126848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
For a long, long time, they sat there, joined intimately together and watching the new life unfold as Dra’vik stroked her arms and shoulders and hips, whispering how beautiful and brave she was and what a wonderful mother she would make. Iyanna had never felt so loved…and had never felt so much love. It seemed to well up inside her and pour out—love for everyone and everything as her body found its new shape and purpose.
At last, the little flower inside her seemed to have grown as much as it could—for the moment anyway. Iyanna no longer felt it getting bigger—it seemed to be resting.
“My baby,” she whispered, stroking her gently rounded belly, which had also stopped growing now that she had a small but pronounced baby bump.
“Our baby,” Dra’vik murmured, placing his much larger hand over hers. “We’ll love him and raise him together, little girl. And I’ll never let the two of you go.”
“No, never,” Iyanna whispered.
And as the big Drake encircled her and the new life within her in his arms, she leaned her forehead on his broad chest and wept tears of joy. Together—the three of them would be together and she and the baby and Dra’vik would form a family. They would live aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship growing in love and laughter and she would continue her life’s work to study new and exotic plants even as she and Dra’vik raised their son.
Her whole life had changed in such a short time—she was going to be a wife and a mom. She never would have believed such a thing was possible, Iyanna thought to herself.
And it wouldn’t have been…if she hadn’t met the Dragon in the Dark.
EPILOGUE
“So how exactly did this happen? You two must have gotten together on that mission to Lix’dor Prime right away, huh?” Kat gestured at Iyanna’s gently rounded belly, which she was displaying proudly in the new maternity clothing she’d bought for the purpose.
“Not exactly,” Iyanna smiled at her.
Kat had brought her two best friends, Sophie and Liv, as well as their cousin, Lauren, for a tour of the Monstrum Mother Ship. Iyanna had been taking them around the Light Side and now they were resting at a little café not far from the Transport Hub before touring the Dark Side.
The Monstrum were trying to emulate their Kindred brothers by building more little restaurants and shops into their ship to make it a more pleasing place for Earth brides to live. But honestly, Iyanna thought its wild beauty was already pleasing enough—not that she minded having the delicious, iced mocha she was sipping contentedly.
“Uh, when did you two get together and bond then?” Kat demanded, frowning. “I mean, you are bonded—right?” She raised her eyebrows as she eyed Iyanna’s baby bump again.
“We certainly are.” Iyanna smiled. “And to answer your question, we just got bonded a week ago.”
“A week ago?” Liv shook her head. “And you’re already so pregnant you’re showing? I’m sorry, but as a doctor, I don’t see how that can be possible.”
“It has to do with the way Drake Monstrum bond with their brides,” Iyanna explained, feeling her cheeks get hot. “See, bonding with a Drake Monstrum causes immediate pregnancy.”
She wasn’t about to tell them all the intimate details of the breeding—that was a cherished memory kept between her and Dra’vik. But she had to give her new friends some kind of explanation.
“Wow,” Sophie said, her green eyes wide. “That’s incredible.”
“It is, but I still don’t see how you’re already showing if you just got bonded a week ago,” Lauren put in, frowning.
“It’s because the baby gets the whole first trimester’s worth of growth done in the first few minutes after impregnation,” Iyanna explained.
“What?” Liv’s silver-gray eyes went even wider than her sister’s. “But that’s impossible!”
Iyanna shrugged.
“Not when your mate is a Drake Monstrum.”
“That must have caused some serious stretch marks,” Kat asked, frowning.
“You’d think it would, but actually it didn’t at all,” Iyanna told her. “Something to do with the growth hormones Dra’vik’s, er, Barb injected into me. They not only help the baby grow, they also help my skin stretch to accommodate his progress.” She shrugged. “According to him, I shouldn’t have any stretch marks at all during the whole pregnancy.” She stroked her baby bump again lovingly.
“Wow—lucky you, doll!” Kat gave her a half-envious nod. “That’s amazing.”
“Yes…” Iyanna sighed. “I just wish I had more time to get ready for the little guy. I still have to set up his nursery, get everything childproofed, not to mention explaining all of this to my mom and dad in a way they can understand—and I only have six months to do it. To be honest, I’ve been feeling kind of stressed out.”
“Only six months? Why do you say that?” Lauren asked, frowning.
“I thought you said your baby grew the first three months in a few minutes—not the first six months,” Sophie put in.