Page 238 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“Do you think it’s why she was so weird with Maddox?” Theon asked.
Luka shrugged. “It would make sense, but we would scent that, right?”
“Kat hid her pregnancy for months.”
They stared at each other, and then they stared at her when she came into the room with her empty mug. She’d been sitting outside on the balcony, soaking in the fresh air. The last he’d looked, Roan had been curled at her feet.
She paused at their attention, her eyes narrowing. “What?”
“You didn’t hold Maddox today,” Theon blurted.
Her eyes went wide before she turned away from them and continued to the kitchen. “And?”
“And…why?”
The sink turned on, and she rinsed her cup.
“Are you pregnant, Tessa?” Luka asked bluntly.
The mug hit the sink, the sound of it breaking carrying to them. Turning the sink off, she turned to face them. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you were obviously uncomfortable today,” Luka said flatly.
“So you assume I am pregnant?”
“When was your last contraceptive shot?” Theon asked.
Irritation crossed her face as she folded her arms and pressed her lips together. “Rordan made sure I had one when Luka started staying in Faven,” she said tightly. “And I wasgratefulfor that, but I also asked Tristyn to get me one a few weeks ago. When wasyours?”
“We…haven’t been…” Theon started, trying to explain just how colossally they’d fucked this up. It should never have been all on her to make sure they were preventing this possibility.
“I know,” she drawled, her gaze bouncing between them. “Were you hoping my answer was going to be yes?”
“Neither of us are ready for a child,” Luka said carefully, clearly sensing just how much they’d pissed her off with this. “But with the way you acted today, we thought it might have been possible. There’s been a lot of fucking lately, baby girl.”
“You’re both idiots,” she deadpanned, before turning to rummage in the pantry for something to eat.
“But…then why were you so uncomfortable today?” Theon pushed.
She sighed, placing a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “You were both very excited about the babe,” she said. “I was just giving you the room to enjoy it.”
“You weren’t excited?”
“Of course I’m glad he made it here safe and sound. I’m happy for them,” she replied tightly.
“But?” Luka asked.
“You both seemed…enamored with him,” she said carefully.
“I don’t understand. He’s our nephew. Of course we are,” Theon said.
“If Ihadbeen pregnant, would you have been excited?”
His brows shot up. “It would have been unexpected, but we wouldn’t have been upset.”
“Luka just said neither of you are ready for a child,” she countered.
“We aren’t, but that doesn’t mean…” Theon stood, shoving a hand through his hair. “This conversation is confusing.”
