Page 94 of Mutant Mine

“I’m not sure,” Selene says, ponderous. “It’s something I’d love to research someday, if you ever feel like being a test subject?”

She laughs at the expression on my face.

“No, I do have a hypothesis,” she says. “I believe that the pregnancy alters your DNA so that you can support the fetus. This could be a survival mechanism in Species X, which has carried across to the human hybrids. If Species X regularly crossbreeds with other species, they could have evolved to genetically alter the mother from the inside, turning her into a receptive host.”

“That makes the fetus sound like a parasite.”

“It is!” she says cheerfully. “All babies are, alien or otherwise. And you love them so much, you don’t even care. That’s the beauty of the thing.”

Selene tucks her clothes back over her marked belly.

“I wanted you to know this before you get pregnant, Rory, so that you knowexactlywhat you’re consenting to. You’ll outlive your family, all your friends…”

“I don’t have any family or friends,” I say, still too much in shock to filter what’s falling out of my face.

“You do now,” Selene smiles. “But still. It’s a big deal, Rory. We don’t know how else the DNA may be found to affect us, as time goes on.”

“Okay,” I say. “Thank you for telling me. That’s… that’s a lot.”

“Ah,” Selene says. “There’s actually one last thing I should tell you: the mating pheromones prime you for the process. You’ve already been exposed to those for some time, so your body might start growing more… hospitable.”

“And that means…?”

“Extra horny, extra fertile.”

“Gotcha,” I say weakly.

Selene peers into my face. “I’m sorry. Was that too much? This doesn’t have to be the last time we talk. We can keep talking. Weshouldkeep talking. You can check with me anytime you have a question or feel uncertain about anything at all.”

“No, no, it wasn’t too much,” I say, squeezing Selene’s hand where it still grips mine. “I’m just… I need a little while to process.”

“Absolutely, of course you do.”

“Thank you again for letting me know.” I pause, starting to get my thoughts in order. “It’s way too early for me and Roth to be thinking about having children. Way,waytoo early. But it’s certainly an, um, interesting consideration for the future.”

Selene smiles kindly.

“There’s no pressure, Rory. It’s just something to think about. I only wanted you to know that if youdodecide that you want a future with Roth, where you get to raise a family and live together into your old age… You can have that.”

I can’t help but pull her into a hug.

“Thank you,” I say again, thickly, into her hair.

“You’re welcome,” Selene says, holding me tight. “You really are. I’m so happy to have another woman around!”

I imagine myself with blue spirals on my skin and Roth’s baby in my belly. For now, it still feels daunting — but if I’m honest, I don’t think it will take me that long to want it.

I’ve never had a family. And I can’t imagine the happiness that a child would bring Roth: his own flesh and blood. I would love to give him that. A real little person, with my eyes, and his… horns? I pale, a brand new fear occurring to me.

“The babies aren’tbornwith horns, right?” I ask, squeezing my legs together. Ghastly images are crawling through mymind, all involving the phrase ‘torn asunder’.

“Oh good lord no,” says Selene. “Their horns come in along with their teeth.”

Thankgod.

But a child needs a real home, not just a starship…

Selene is getting up to leave. “And now, having dropped all that on you, I’ll leave you in peace.”

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