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Guy looked down again.

"Our child?"

I laughed.

"Unless you've been sharing your mating bond with another woman, in which case we have a much bigger problem."

He didn't answer.

His emotions swept through our bond so suddenly that I caught his shoulder to steady myself.

There was joy, certainly.

But there was also disbelief, wonder, and a tenderness so profound that my own eyes began to sting.

Guy slid from the bed onto his knees.

"Guy!"

He wrapped his arms around my hips and rested his forehead against my stomach.

I stood there for a moment, surprised by how quickly he'd moved.

Then I placed my hands in his hair.

There wasn't anything for him to feel yet.

Sefa said it would be another couple of months before I noticed the baby moving.

At the moment, our child was barely bigger than a bean.

Guy didn't seem to care.

He stayed there with his forehead pressed against me, his arms holding me gently.

"I never thought I'd have this," he whispered.

I brushed my fingers through his hair.

"Neither did I."

He looked up.

"When I was young, I thought having a position and a place of my own would be enough."

I smiled.

"You've got both."

"And a mate who threatened to shoot my hat this morning."

"You deserved it."

His mouth curved.

"I probably did."

He looked at my stomach again.