Page 68 of A Mate For Matrix
A sudden dip in her stomach made her hand drift lower, brushing across her abdomen.
Oh God.
Her eyes widened, heat prickling her cheeks as realization slammed into her, and she went utterly still.
Matrix’s arm tightened around her waist, sensing her sudden tension. “Jana?” His voice was low, questioning. “What is it? Are you alright?”
She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. Slowly, she turned her head to look up at him, her voice quiet and trembling with unspoken hope.
“How do you feel,” she whispered, “about the possibility of… expanding our pack?”
Matrix blinked. “Our… what?”
“Do you…” She hesitated, her heart hammering. “Do you have one of those medical scanner things? The ones that can test for… pregnancy?”
For a heartbeat, Matrix only stared at her. Then his eyes widened, lips parting as if he were trying to speak but had forgotten how. He swayed slightly on his feet. Yes, they had joked about it, even contemplated it, but he had pushed it aside as a possibility for sometime in the future, not quite so—soon.
Before he could form a word, K-Nine’s voice cut smoothly through their private link.
Already ran the scan.
Matrix froze.
Congratulations! K-Nine added enthusiastically. You’re going to need a bigger ship in approximately eight months, twenty-six days, and thirteen hours.
Matrix’s jaw dropped. His gaze snapped to Jana’s, awe and disbelief warring across his face.
Jana’s breath caught when his hand came up—tentative, almost reverent—and rested against her stomach.
“You…” His voice broke, quiet and hoarse. “…We…”
Her vision blurred as tears gathered, laughter bubbling up between them.
“We,” she breathed, cupping his cheek with both hands.
Matrix pulled her into his arms and held her as if the entire galaxy couldn’t pry them apart.
Somewhere behind them, K-Nine muttered, “Better stock up on rations. We’ll have another mouth to feed.”
Jana pressed her face into Matrix’s chest, smiling through her tears as his arms tightened around her.
A new excitement built inside her as she contemplated their new, strange, and uncertain future. It didn’t matter. She felt loved. Whole. At home.
Whatever battles lay ahead, they’d face them together. With their growing pack.
Epilogue
The glow of the Medi-scanner trembled slightly in his hand as Matrix leaned over the bed in the medical unit. A storm churned inside him as he watched the screen for the results.
The display pulsed softly, the holographic projection of Jana’s scans hovering above the console in a wash of pale blue light.
Tucked safely in her womb, no larger than the tip of his finger, was the beginning of a new life.
His breath caught, his chest tightening as emotions warred inside him—awe, fear, joy… and a bone-deep uncertainty he hadn’t felt since he was a boy.
Jana laughed softly behind him, her voice carrying the same brightness it always did when she’d set her mind on something. “I’m making us a feast,” she declared, brushing past him to snag her tablet from the counter. “This calls for a celebration.”
He managed a smile as she kissed his cheek and darted from the med bay, humming under her breath.
