Beta (16 page)

"That's
not everything," I whispered, "The reason he was so adamant about
me was because I was genetically engineered to be the most likely
carrier of a hybrid."

"What do
you mean," he asked.

"My
parents conceived me naturally to obtain my wolf but while I was in
the womb, I was injected with vampire blood. That's why I'm pale
and smaller than most wolves. I hardly age and the older I get, the
slower it becomes. I'm not even sure I'll ever die naturally. I
don't even know if I can have children," I said as I started to
cry. I was convinced he would leave me now, knowing that I did have
a little bit of vampire DNA.

He
wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

"I should
have told you this before we were married. I understand if you want
a divorce," I said regaining some control.

"I don't
care about what you are, Liz. I love you and nothing can ever
change that."

"Are you
sure? There is a chance I can't have children."

"That
chance exists with all couples. If you can't get pregnant that's
fine. We have Christian."

I
couldn't believe I ever doubted him. I felt ridiculous for ever
thinking he wouldn't want me because of my DNA.

"So
you're a hybrid?"

"Not
exactly but I'm the closest thing to it. I don't have any vampire
tendencies except my intelligence and in extreme situations, I have
strength I didn't know I possessed. It's the only reason I was able
to kill Andre."

He
nodded, "I'm sorry. This never would have happened if I came home
right after work."

"Where
were you anyway?"

He smiled
lightly, "Planning a surprise for you."

"What
kind of surprise?"

"A trip.
Just the two of us since we haven't gone anywhere since our
honeymoon."

I leaned
over and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks.
Where are we going?"

"Italy.
We leave in two weeks."

I smiled
to myself, "You really the best husband."

"No I'm
not. I've treated you-"

"You have
treated me better than anyone ever has before. My parents never
wanted me. They made it very clear they were only watching over me
until Andre was willing to take me. My brother hasn't said a single
word to me in seventeen years. You and Christian and Adrian are the
only family I have ever had," I said.

"I may
treat you better than you biological family but I still have a lot
of room for improvement."

"I don't
think so," I insisted.

He
groaned, "Liz, trust me on this. I have been a shitty mate. From
now on, we tell each other everything, deal?"

"Deal."

This is
not the end!!!

********

I'm
thinking about sharing my twitter information with you guys. I
don't know. What do you think?

I bolted
upright to the sound of Christian wailing. It had to be around
three or four in the morning when Titus and I raced into
Christian's room, terrified something might be wrong this time.
Instead, we found him alone like we had every night for the past
three days. His nightmares were getting out of control. He hadn't
slept a solid night since Andre took me and it was starting to wear
on me and Titus as well.

Titus
sighed and rubbed the sleep from his face as he sat next to
Christian to tuck him back in.

"Nightmare?" Titus guessed.

Christian
nodded and wiped his eyes.

"Why do
you think you keep having them?" I asked.

"I'm
scared of this room," he said softly.

Problem
solved.

"Why
don't we move you to a more grown up room," I suggested.

Christian
perked up at the idea of moving from his light blue boy room to a
more grown up room. Maybe it was time he moved from next door to
us.

"Can I
tomorrow?"

"Yeah.
We'll do it tomorrow," Titus said, clearly tired and wanting to go
back to sleep.

"Go back
to sleep," I said to Christian and kissed his forehead.

I took
Titus's hand and pulled him back to our room. Once we were under
covers, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me as close
as possible to his solid body.

"I hope
moving him stops these late nights," Titus mumbled.

"Me
too."

Out of
nowhere, my stomach clenched. I instantly felt sick, something I
hadn't felt often. I pushed Titus off of me and ran into the
bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet when I expelled everything
I ate for dinner. Titus was at my side pulling my hair away from my
face and rubbing my back.

As
quickly as the nausea came, it passed. I sat on the floor and wiped
my mouth with a sheet of toilet paper.

"Are you
okay?" Titus asked, clearly worried.

"I don't
know," I responded weakly.

I had
been feeling exhausted the past couple of days but I didn't think I
was sick. Wolves almost never got sick; I mean, it happened but it
was so rare.

"I've
been really tired but that's it," I said as I tried to stand. Titus
pulled me up the rest of the way, refusing to let me walk on my own
back to bed.

"I'm
going to grab you some water," he said as he laid me down in
bed.

He
disappeared downstairs and returned shortly with a glass of cold
water. I drank only enough to rid my mouth of the foul taste but
that was it. I was afraid if I drank too much it would just come
back up. I hadn't been sick in years and I certainly did not relish
the feeling.

"You
haven't been feeling sick at all?" He asked.

I shook
my head, "No I've been fine. I have no idea where that came
from."

"Maybe
you should have Anne check it out tomorrow," he
suggested.

I nodded
absently as I ran down the list of possibilities. Ulcers, cancer,
parasites...wait.

When did
I have my last period?

I missed
it. In all the crap going on, I hadn't even realized I was late by
almost two weeks.

"I think
I might be pregnant," I mused.

"Really?"
He was instantly more awake.

"Don't
get excited yet. I'm a couple weeks late but that could be the
stress of everything."

"Do you
think you are?"

"I'm
showing signs but I won't know until I run some tests."

He rolled
his eyes, "You're so analytical."

I
laughed, "Well I am a doctor."

"I hope
you're pregnant," he said as he pulled me into him, wrapping his
arm around me to rest his hand on my stomach.

"I do
too."

I settled
in and drifted off to sleep with Titus tracing gentle circles on my
stomach.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Titus sat
in my office, waiting for my tests to process. It was a simple
blood test just to make sure but after another round of morning
sickness, I was pretty convinced I was pregnant.

"Well?"
He asked as I looked at the results.

I nodded
a little, "Yep. Definitely pregnant."

"Seriously," he asked, excited.

I showed
him and explained how to read it. He wrapped his arms around me and
slightly lifted me from the ground. I laughed at his clear
happiness for the situation and couldn't help but sigh in
relief.

"So how
far along are you?"

"I don't
know. I'll have to have Anne do an ultrasound but my guess is about
a month."

"Are you
happy?" He asked.

"Very. I
had this awful feeling I was sterile."

He smiled
and moved a blonde lock over my shoulder, "I wouldn't have cared if
you were. I love you, Lizzy."

"I love
you, too," I said with a smile, "How do you think Christian will
take it?"

"Should
we tell him tonight?"

"Probably. I don't want him to think we're keeping it from
him."

"Very
true."

"Why
don't you take the day off," Titus asked, "We can go to lunch and
pick up Christian later."

"You
don't have to go in?" I asked.

He
shrugged, "Not really. I can if you want though."

I shook
my head and laughed, "No that's okay. I am hungry."

"Good."

We made
our way out to his SUV and as usual, he opened my door for me. I
could always count on Titus for chivalry. Aria had pounded it into
his head while he was growing up and I would do the same for
Christian. I wondered if I would have a boy or a girl. I would be
lying if I said I wasn't concerned about the baby, genetically. It
was possible that the way I was genetically modified in the womb
would affect the way my baby developed. I was an anomaly and I
didn't know what would happen. The thought terrified me but all I
could do was hope for the best and try to stay healthy.

"What's
the matter," he asked as he drove to our favorite
restaurant.

"I'm just
worried. What if my DNA affects the baby?"

"You seem
pretty healthy to me," he said, "Whatever happens, happens. As long
as you're fine and the baby is healthy, I couldn't care less about
its genes."

I nodded
absently. His assurance did help ease my concern but it would be in
the back of my mind for the whole pregnancy.

"So, we
do need to talk about Claire," he said carefully.

I
stiffened at her name, never wanting to see that bitch again. She
was a disgusting, selfish person and I hated that Titus had ever
been involved with her.

"What
about her?" I asked clearly annoyed.

"We need
to decide how she will be punished. She committed treason but she
also involved the human court system in this."

"I don't
care what happens to her as long as she goes away."

"Well,
Zac had her locked up in the cells but we can't keep her there
forever."

"Why does
it matter?" I asked, irritated.

"It
matters because she hurt you. You know the law."

I rolled
my eyes. I knew the damn law. They expected me to decide her
punishment. An eye for an eye. But I honestly just wanted her to go
away. I didn't care if she was banned, killed, whatever, just as
long as she never bothered me or my family again. Banning her
wouldn't stop her from going back to the Order because it was
vampire owned and operated.

"I know.
I don't care what happens to her."

"Well,
think about it. She can't be put to death but we can ban
her."

"Oh, you
mean like I've wanted to do this entire time?" I asked
sarcastically.

He tossed
me a pointed look, "I said I was sorry. I know that doesn't mean
much but I was trying to keep everyone's best interest in
mind."

I grunted
in response. I knew he felt guilty about it and I had forgiven him
but I couldn't just forget everything that happened. If he had just
listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't be here. We wouldn't
have to be deciding what to do with her. She would be gone and
marked and not my problem. I would be able to enjoy the discovery
of my pregnancy.

"Just
think about it, Liz."

******

We ate in
silence. I was irritated about life in general but happy at the
same time. My emotions were everywhere and I knew that but I
couldn't stop it.

I picked
at my food as I felt Titus watching me carefully.

"What," I
asked without looking up.

"What's
really wrong, Liz? I know it's not just Claire."

I
shrugged and met his eyes, "What if I'm not good at
this?"

He
laughed, "You've already raised one just fine."

"Yeah,
but I didn't give birth to him. I might do something wrong and mess
everything up."

"You're
putting too much thought into something this natural. Thought of
any names?"

"Not
really. Have you?"

"I don't
know. I'm not good at this," he muttered.

"You
named Christian just fine," I pointed.

"My mom
helped me name him," he said.

"Okay,
well, what about Cade for a boy?"

He
thought about it for a moment and absently nodded his
head.

"I like
it. What do you think of Rose for a girl?"

I half
smiled, "See, you're not half bad at this."

He
laughed lightly, "I guess. What do you think Christian is going to
say?"

"I hope
he's happy. I think he will be."

"My
concern is that he just found out you're not his biological mother.
I think he's going to resent the baby."