Page 24 of Rathgar

Now I can sniff her out like prey. I tear through the brush like a predator, heart leaping as my mate grows nearer and nearer. Her sweet, perfect scent shifts and changes the closer I get. It takes on more depth, a second, subtle note joining the first.

She’s pregnant.

That thought pushes me to run faster. To reach her sooner. To scold her for being out here alone, for being so careless, for being so…

Wait. She’s not alone.

“Rahrah!” The tiny voice breaks the silence and little arms pull away from her mother’s. She starts running toward me again, just like the last time.

And just like the last time, I’m shocked speechless. In the child’s dark eyes, I see hints of her mother. In the curve of her smile. The soft waves of her hair.

It’s like a looking glass into the future. A premonition of what’s to come. I knew it ever since signing the contract, but seeing that little girl toddling toward me makes me realize it for the first time:

I’m going to be a father.

The anger and disdain floods out of me in an instant, replaced with a warm, suffusing presence that surprises even me. I crouch down and let her run into my arms, picking the girl up and letting her wrap her arms around my neck.

She’s light as a feather. So much different from young in our world. Her big, curious eyes light up and she squeals with excitement. In that moment, I’ve never felt so unprepared. So utterly disarmed.

Is this…what being a father feels like?

Janie laughs and walks toward us, her eyes soft and unreadable. Her gaze is only fixed on Iris, on the way she moves and grabs and laughs in my arms. She doesn’t even look at me.

And to be honest? I probably deserve that.

I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her land and housing and all the luxury our planet had to offer. I thought she’d be grateful.

Looks like I still have a lot to learn about these Earth women.

“Soren’s been telling Iris about you.” Janie’s first words to me are calm, measured. No hint of emotion or excitement either way. “He tried to teach her your name, but as you can see…” Her lips pull upwards, ever so slightly, but even that takes my breath away. “Iris hasn’t quite got it yet.”

“Rahrah,” Iris repeats, this time weaving her fingers into my braid. I’m sweaty, tired, dirty, and probably caked with blood. Yet this little one, so innocent and pure, runs to me as if I were her own father. Calls out my name, garbled as it is. Wraps her arms around me like I’m the most precious thing in the world.

And something shifts in my heart, just then. This child — and this woman — need me. Not in a helpless way. In a way I thought I’d never feel for anyone, and certainly not an Earth woman:

Family.

“Let’s go,” I say, and this time I can’t keep the emotion from my voice.

Janie doesn’t argue. Doesn’t resist. She fixes me with that same awestruck, doe-eyed stare, and I turn toward home, holding Iris in my arms. I resolve to fix everything.

NEST

JANIE

Well, this is it. I’ve put off the inevitable for as long as possible, but now that Rathgar’s back, I’m finally walking with him toward his home.

Correction: our home.

I try to ignore the way my heart leaps in my chest as I see his strong arms encircling Iris. It’s tender, almost. Completely different from his usual demeanor. And to think, he stomped over to where we were staying, furious…

The mean, surly warrior is utterly helpless in the face of a child. If I wasn’t trying to keep things professional between us, it could have been adorable.

Something I could fall in love with.

He’s already left me once. Who’s to say he won’t do it again? No matter what happens, I won’t put my heart on the line again. I can’t.

The moment I step into the house, I can already tell it’s going to be different. Warm, soft colors and natural tones accent all the furniture and decorations, while huge windows let in the afternoon sunlight.

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