Page 23 of Ulfar

“Wow, this is so good!” Sarah crows after taking a bite. She pauses for a moment, thinking. “But you know what would go really well with it?”

“What’s that?” I ask between bites.

“You know that red sauce back at the cottage?”

I nearly spit out my fish. “You mean thejam?”

“Yeah! That.” She shrugs. “I don’t know why, but I had a craving for it all of a sudden.”

A craving. She may not know, but the word pings a memory in my head. Something they told us when sitting through all the long, boring informational meetings at the ISA.

“Strange cravings can be an early symptom of pregnancy...”

Sarah. My Sarah. Pregnant. It sounds too good to be true, and already I’m daydreaming of a life with her back at the village, where she can raise the children with the other members of my clan. In my mind’s eye I see her glowing and round with child, holding my hand as our children run barefoot through the grass.

It’s a nice vision. A peaceful one. Far from the tragedy of battle my people have endured for far too long. I want to share that with her, and by all the stars, I will make it happen.

She is mine. No matter what the Intergalactic Surrogacy Agency says. No matter what anyone says. I’ll fight them all if I have to, but now that I’ve found my one true heart-mate, I’m not going to let her go.

I come back to myself and press a kiss to her forehead. “When we get back, you can have as much jam as you want. Promise.” Getting to my feet, I turn back to the tent to start packing up. It’s been a beautiful outing, but we’ll have to start heading back before long.

If only it could last a little longer...

“Hey, Ulfar?” Sarah’s voice comes from behind me.

“Yeah?” I call out without looking over my shoulder.

She pauses for long enough that I turn away from what I’m doing to face her. There’s that troubled expression again, more plainly than I’ve ever seen it. Is it finally time? Will she finally tell me how she feels?

“What’s wrong?” I ask and take a step closer.

“Nothing, it’s just...” She trails off, not meeting my gaze. “What happens if...” Sarah chews her lip, face flushing. When she speaks again, it’s barely above a whisper. “If something happens to the baby?”

The question catches me completely off guard. We were having such a great time, filled with passion and hope for the future. Where did this come from? “What do you mean?” I ask gingerly. “Are you sick or something?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing like that. I was just thinking about the contract we signed, is all. It made me wonder if the terms would still be valid if a mother lost the pregnancy.”

I feel like a blind man looking at a map and trying to figure out where he is. “What are you talking about?” I ask, my voice even. “All of the babies delivered by the ISA have been perfectly healthy. The nurses and doctors they have here are top tier, best in the galaxy. They won’t let anything happen to you or your child. And even if, stars above, something did happen, that wouldn’t be your fault.” Sarah looks like she wants to cry, and I take her in my arms, holding her close. I can feel her trembling, and I know it’s not just from the morning chill.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Sarah,” I tell her firmly. “I promise. I’ll protect you and our child with everything I have.”

She looks up at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course I do,” I say, stroking her hair. “I love you, Sarah. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

“I love you too,” she whispers, and then she kisses me fiercely. Tears run down her face and I kiss each of them away. My hands slip beneath her shirt, and I can feel the warmth of her skin under my fingertips. I want her so badly it’s like a physical ache.

We break apart eventually, panting for breath. Sarah’s eyes are dark with desire, and I can see the same hunger in my own reflection in her gaze. We both know what we want.

“I want to mark you.” The words come out without thinking. It’s a serious, sacred matter in our culture, reserved only for one’s lifelong mate. But I can’t help myself. When I’m with her, I can’t think about anything or anyone else. She’s mine, and I would fight the entire galaxy to keep her by my side. “Make you mine. Breed you full of babies, start a life together...”

“Ulfar...” she whispers, and as we stumble back into the tent, I pull her onto the bedroll and push her down until her head rests on the pillow. I straddle her hips, pressing our bodies flush against each other. Her eyes widen when I move between her legs. She smells so fucking sweet. I lower my mouth to her neck, kissing along her jawline. “Oh gods,” she moans, arching her body toward me.

Her strangled cry is the last straw. My sanity shatters and I throw caution to the wind, sinking my sharp teeth deep into the crook between her neck and shoulder. Sweet, hot blood flows over my lips and tongue, uniting us in a way that nothing else can.

Sarah screams in pleasure and pain, holding on for dear life as she trembles against me. As I lap at the wound and hold her close, I whisper those magical words in her ear:

“Now the entire galaxy will know that you are mine.”

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