Page 36 of Pregnant Kidnapped Mate

“Maybe you’re right,” I muttered.

Alek pulled me toward him, planting a kiss on my forehead. “I know I am,” he responded.

Chapter 16 - Alek

“Concentrate,” Malcolm urged. “Think about something you want to know. Hold it in your mind and try to focus on it.”

Iris’s face scrunched up as she tried to follow Malcolm’s instructions. I watched in silence. After a minute, she sighed in frustration and shook her head.

“Nothing,” she spat. “I’m garbage at this.”

“You’re not garbage at all,” Malcolm said reassuringly. The sun coming in through the window highlighted his salt-and-pepper hair. “You’re just learning. And on top of that, you don’t have a proper psychic to teach you. You’ve got a guy who’s been around for a long time and knows a decent amount, but I can’t give you the insight a real psychic can.”

Iris muttered under her breath, pushing the hair back from her forehead. “This is pointless,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Malcolm countered. “It takes years for psychics to perfect their skill. You’ve known you were psychic for a little over a month.”

“I don’t have years, though,” Iris said. She sighed, pinching her nose and leaning against the wall, finally giving up on pacing. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m being so irritable. I shouldn’t take it out on you. It’s just, there’s a lot going on.”

I walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” I said soothingly. “It’s just the pregnancy—”

“If you say it’s just the pregnancy hormones, I’ll bite your head off,” she snapped.

Malcolm bit back a snicker. I wasn’t fast enough, and I started laughing. She glowered at me.

“Just you wait,” she threatened, shrugging her shoulder out of my grip as she stalked a few feet away. “Don’t forget I know where you sleep.”

“Am I going to get in trouble if I say you’re really hot when you’re pissed off like this?” I asked. “Because you are, and it’s a bit distracting. But I won’t say it if it’ll piss you off even more.”

“You just said it. You know that, right?”

I shrugged. “Well, are you more pissed off?”

“Don’t get her more riled up than she already is,” Malcolm said. “We’ve still got some training to do.”

“It feels so useless,” Iris repeated.

Malcolm scratched his stubble, considering. “I might be able to find someone who can train you better than I could,” he mused. “I know a couple of people I could reach out to, and they’ll probably come through for me if they’re available. But it could take a while for them to meet with you, and unless they move here or you move wherever they are, there’s only so much teaching they’ll be able to give you.”

“I appreciate that,” Iris said. Most of the ire had subsided from her eyes and posture. “But you’ve been doing a great job, and I don’t know if I’m ready to talk to other psychics just yet. Sorry, I know that might be a little weird.”

“Not at all,” Malcolm said. “You’ve had a lot to deal with the last few weeks. I don’t blame you for not wanting to add ‘meeting psychics’ to your list of recent excursions.”

Iris’s shoulders sagged slightly in relief, and she gave my ex-boss an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Malcolm,” she said. “I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. Now, you got any more for me today?”

“I guess there’s one way to find out.”

About an hour later, Malcolm ended the session. Iris collapsed on the couch, giving a huge yawn.

“You really are coming along well,” Malcolm said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you start developing more powers, you know.”

Iris opened her eyes again, paling slightly. “More powers?” she repeated. When he nodded, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

He shrugged. “It was impossible to know,” he replied. “It depends on how strong the gift is, and I couldn’t tell how strong it was without seeing you in action.”

“So, it’s strong?” I asked Malcolm.

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