Page 42 of The Alien's Pet

"I should get going." Karin kissed her cheek regretfully. "Otherwise, Korrev will throw a fit."

Karin stood up, but suddenly, her knees jerked and her legs felt wobbly. She had to hold on to the edge of the chair to prevent herself from falling.

Alice tore the baby from her chest, leading to a crying fit. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Alice tried to soothe her screaming baby while checking on her friend.

Karin shook her head, but she was still feeling a bit dizzy. She bit her lip as she waited for her vision to clear. "No, I just felt dizzy. Like I used to feel after I woke up from eating the berries."

Alice looked worried. "Maybe you should lie down. Here, you can rest on our bed."

"No, really, it's not necessary. I am perfectly all right." Karin tried to stand up again, but another wave of dizziness hit her. She had to sit back down. Even Kovin stopped crying to look at her with wonder. "Maybe I should rest for a bit."

Alice led her to the master bedroom because her other room had been turned into a nursery for the baby. "I'm sorry for being such a bother." Karin’s cheeks flushed. This was so embarrassing. "I'm sure I will be okay after a short nap."

"Take all the time you need, sweetheart." Alice draped a blanket over her as she balanced the baby on her hip.

A wave of exhaustion hit her and before she knew it, Karin closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber. She only woke up when she felt someone shaking her awake. "Karin, Karin, Pet, please wake up." Her eyes opened when she heard Korrev'svoice. He still called her "pet" at times, but it was now used as a term of endearment.

When she woke up completely, she saw Alice and Kyvan standing by the doorway. The baby was no longer with Alice, which meant he must be in the nursery. How long had she slept?

"Alice told us you weren't feeling well." Korrev cupped her face in his hand as if checking for a fever. "Was it your stomach?"

"No," she admitted. "It was just a dizzy spell. I'm sure it's nothing." She tried to get out of bed, but another wave of dizziness hit her.

Korrev managed to grip her by her waist, to prevent her from falling. "Karin," he hissed at her, "stay still."

She reluctantly did as she was told.

Korrev scooped her up in his arms as if she were a new bride and took her out of the room without saying anything else to their friends, much to her embarrassment.

"Do you think these are remnants from the berries you ate months ago?" he asked her as he tucked her into bed.

"No, I've been feeling fine. I didn't experience dizzy spells in Europe. I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow."

But the next day, she was just as sick if not worse. Even getting out of bed to go to the bathroom proved to be a hassle.

Despite her protests, Korrev dragged her to Azis after breakfast, convinced she was dying.

Azis didn't look at all pleased to see either of them as he ran a series of tests which made Karin feel very sore.

When he finished with the examination, he turned to her with what, apparently, was his version of a smile. "Congratulations, my queen. You are pregnant."

For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence. Then Karin let out a loud squeal as she wrapped her arms around Azis. "Are you serious? Am I truly pregnant? Please tell me you're not joking."

He pursed his lips as her king pulled her away, apparently not very happy she was hugging him.

"I am not the joking type, Karin."

"How far along am I?"

"Only a month. But if you're getting dizzy spells so early in the pregnancy, I am concerned it might be very difficult for you. You must rest as much as you can and follow every instruction I give you."

She nodded as she touched her still flat belly. "Oh, I will. I promise I will be very well behaved." Karin turned back to Korrev, who was looking at her with an amused expression on his face. "Oh, Korrev, we are going to be parents."

"Yes, Karin, I did hear him. I also heard the part where you must have plenty of rest." He squeezed her hip. "How many checkups should she have?"

"I would like to check her every week for the first trimester and every month afterwards."

Karin was hardly listening to him. She was acting like an overexcited puppy. "I'm going to have a baby."

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