Chapter 211

Helen’s POV

The contents of my lunch spattered into the toilet. I flushed it, leaning on the rim, gasping for breath. For a week now, I hadn’t been able to keep much down, and I had a feeling that meant good news.

After all, it had been almost two months since I had mated with Justin. Pulling myself off the toilet, I went to the sink and rinsed my mouth, then patted my face dry with a towel.

I hadn’t said anything to him, and he was busy most of the time, so I doubt that he noticed. Justin woke early and would go to work before I woke up and started acting sick.

I had missed my period last month. But if I was wrong in my assumption and I had a stomach virus, then I should be getting my period at the end of the week. If I did miss another period, I was going straight out to get a pregnancy test.

Just the idea made my stomach turn again, but with excitement instead of nausea. Justin was so excited about the possibility of a pup that he and I had been mating that way every single time we had sex—so pretty much daily.

Someone knocked on the door downstairs, and I hurried to answer it as quickly as my stomach would allow. On the edge of the kitchen counter sat the glass of ginger tea that I had made for myself. The warm scent wafted out as I passed by the door to the kitchen, and my stomach growled.

Just because I’d been sick didn’t mean that I hadn’t been hungry, and the smell of something soothing called to me. But the visitor knocked again, so I’d have to focus on them first.

I opened the door to find Lisa standing there. “Mind if I come in for a bit?”

“Not at all.” I opened the door wide and stepped aside so that she could join me in the house.

Justin and I had kind of adopted my little place as our home. We had talked about the possibility of moving back into our larger home, but the place held lots of bad memories for me. And I wasn’t in any hurry to relive those.

But Justin kept pressing the issue that my little house was too small. Once we were expecting, we’d need more room to house a family.

Trying not to give anything away, I kept telling him not to count his chickens before they were hatched. He needed to just wait patiently, and we could worry about where to put the baby after we had a baby. Besides, my house had one spare bedroom that could be a nursery until we could find a place that didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I invited Lisa in, and we both sat on the couch at opposite ends, so we could face one another. “What brings you by?” I asked. Though, I was always happy to see Lisa.

She rubbed her hands together and then tucked them between her knees. “I’m a little worried about something,” she admitted.

My heart gave an uncomfortable flip-flop. All of us had been watching me carefully ever since I’d mated with the Huntsman to make sure that I wasn’t harboring some evil that I’d picked up from him. So far, we haven’t seen any sign of wickedness.

In my quiet conversations with Joy, she never indicated that it was an issue with her either. But then again, I hadn’t let her transform at all during the last two months. The last thing I wanted to do was look in the mirror and find out that my wolf was now some sort of monster. Or worse, have her go on a rampage like Beowulf used to.

Hiding was cowardly of me, but I couldn’t help myself. Now that Lisa said she was concerned, I wondered if she’d seen something that I’d missed. Or she’d been trying to track down a witch or a wizard more powerful than herself so that she could ask about my condition and any threat I posed. Maybe she had found answers, and the news was bad.

A blush colored her cheeks, and she refused to look at me. “I, um, took a pregnancy test this morning,” she whispered. “Russo and I are going to have a baby.”

My jaw dropped open. That was not at all what I had expected at all. “Why are you concerned?” I asked. “That’s fantastic. Unless you’re worried about speeding the wedding up so that you’ll still look good in your dress.”

She glanced up to catch my gaze. “That’s part of it, but I’m not ashamed at all. Russo and I know that we’re going to be married. There’s no question of our love for one another. We’re not rushing into a marriage because of the baby or anything like that. I’m just worried that he’s going to be disappointed.”

“Why would he be disappointed? Russo has been alone for a long time. You are one of the best things to have happened to him. Why would adding someone else to your family disappoint him in any way?”

“Well, we haven’t really talked about it,” she said. “But I’m afraid it’s going to be a reminder that he’s the last of the fae. Yes, we’ll have a child, but it will still be the end of his kind.”

I couldn’t help the giggle which bubbled up.

The look she shot me in return was full of hurt. “Why is that funny?” she demanded.

“It’s not so much that it’s funny,” I explained. “But I guess the time for me to tell the truth is now.”

She got a scowl on her face. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, when I introduced you to Russo, it was to keep him company. But that wasn’t the only reason. I didn’t want to tell you sooner because I didn’t want to put any pressure on either of you. If you guys were going to be together, I wanted it to be because you liked one another, not because of any obligations.”

Her frown deepened. “I’m not sure what you’re implying, but it doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Oh, it wasn’t anything bad. I swear!” I yelped. “I just . . . in my research, I discovered that if Russo were to have children with a person who held magic, like a fae, or a witch, or a pixie, that the fae gene is dominant. Obviously, he couldn’t be with a pixie. They’re just too small to be like that with. And since he’s the last of the fae, he can’t really be with his own kind.”

I shot her a pointed look. “But there was always the possibility that he might settle down with a witch.” I let the statement hang, giving her a chance to put the pieces together.

Lisa put her hands on her stomach, her eyes and mouth growing round with shock. “You mean this baby is going to be a fae?”

I grinned and nodded my head. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Russo doesn’t have to be disappointed because this won’t be the end of his kind. In fact, it’s a new beginning.”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks. “I didn’t think I could be anymore happy about having a child, but I was wrong.”

“That’s fantastic. But now, do you see why I couldn’t tell you about the dominant genes? I didn’t want you to be with Russo or have children with him because you felt like you owed it to him to continue his kind. If, for some reason, you guys didn’t get along, I could always try setting him up with another witch.”

“But you guys seemed to get along so well. I figured if you guys both got love out of the relationship, then a fae baby would only be the frosting on the cake. It would just make a life together that much better for you guys.”

Lisa bolted off my couch. “I have to go tell Russo right now.”

“That was a short visit,” I teased.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to run off on you. Originally, I came here because I was worried about how to bring the news of my pregnancy to Russo. But now I don’t need to be worried at all.”

She started for the door, then shifted her focus, looking at me carefully. “You look kind of pale. Are you feeling all right?”

I smiled at her. “I haven’t taken the test yet, but I think I’ve got the same problem you do. Except that I’m fighting a lot of morning sickness.”

She grabbed my hand so tight it almost hurt. “This is so exciting! Our children will be able to grow up together. I promise I won’t say anything about your condition until you’ve taken the test. But you have to call me with the minute that you know.”

“I promise I will.”

Lisa hurried out the door on her way to find Russo, typing texts as she went. Honestly, I was excited for them. Her pregnancy was the best news, and it did make me even more excited about the possibility of being pregnant too. Because, as she said, our children would be able to grow up together, not as the last of their kind, but the first.