Page 135 of Untamed

I shake my head and chase after her, but when I find her, she’s rummaging through the cabinets. “I can’t find the peanut butter.”

“Peanut butter?”

“Yes,” she says with a sigh. “I amdyingfor a peanut butter and pickle sandwich.”

I stare at her. She hasn’t asked for one of those since we went to the cabin. It feels like a long time ago now. Here in Russia, Zoya cooks for all of us at the family home, and Ember happily partakes, as we all do.

“Are you serious right now?”

“I just… it sounds sogoodright now, and I’m a little nauseous…”

We both turn to face each other at the same time.

“Ember.” I hardly trust my voice.

“I—I’m not ready, Rodion. I—I can’t, not now, not yet. We used protection!”

I am trying to be sympathetic, but what I’m actually doing is mentally tallying the closest place I can get a pregnancy test.

“We did, we did,” I tell her reassuringly, nodding. “But it’s not foolproof. We’ll just…let’s get you a pickle and peanut butter sandwich and a test, okay?”

“Rodion.” Her voice is a whisper.

She looks so small, so fragile, it twists something deep in my chest. “We need to find out,” she finally says, shaking.

“We do. But listen.” I pull her into me. Her fear is palpable. “What if I can’t do this? What if I?—”

“What if you’re not alone?” I finish. “What if the two of us are together?”

Holding my gaze, her eyes shimmer, her fear still palpable. “Together.”

I nod. “Wait here,” I say, stepping away after seeing the notification on my phone.

It’s time.

“Rodion, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see.”

I slip outside, ignoring the snow biting at me. The driver meets me at the gate, and I take the small bundle he’s holding. Itsquirms in my hands, the softest little growl followed by a squeak. I can’t help but smirk. Feisty little thing.

Perfect.

“Behave,” I whisper, handing the driver a tip before I turn to the house. I take a deep breath and place another order before I go in.

My heart swells. Our little family might be growing in more ways than one…

When I step back into the warmth of the kitchen, Ember’s perched on a stool. The moment she sees me, her brows knit. “Rodion… what did you do?”

“Ordered pregnancy tests.”

“Rodion…” her voice trails off in a whisper as I set the bundle down at her feet, the blanket falling and revealing the sweetest little creature wobbling on tiny legs with big, fluffy paws promising he’ll grow to be big and strong enough to protect my girl in my absence.

Ember’s hands fly to her mouth. “A puppy.”

“I may have, uh…hacked into those folders of yours, and when I saw you have equal amounts of puppy videos with the book ones… well…”

Her gaze darts between me and the dog, her face unreadable for a split second before she melts.

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