Chapter Fifteen
Kiyana sat in a chair inside one of the rooms of Lochguard's surgery and couldn't help but tap her fingers against her thigh.
After three long months, this was it. If her pregnancy test came back negative, there weren't any more chances. Alistair's health had deteriorated to the point he'd had his blood transfusion the day before. While there was a slim chance he didn't end up sterile, no one was pinning their hopes on it.
Not that she would've had it any other way. She wanted Alistair alive more than his ability to give her a child. The doctors didn't want to risk anything if the procedure hadn't been successful, and had banned all visitors. Otherwise, she would be at his side instead of in an empty room.
However, the silent space only made her more anxious.
Layla entered the room, and Kiyana sat up straighter. This was it—part of her future would be decided here.
Layla sat across from her. As usual, the doctor's face was calm and mostly unreadable. Her first instinct said the pregnancy hadn't taken. Again.
However, she didn't want to jinx herself. "Well? What does the result say?"
Layla smiled, and the churning in her stomach eased a little. "Congratulations, you're pregnant."
Kiyana stared down at her lower belly. After three long months of hormone injections and two failures, she'd done it. She carried her and Alistair's baby.
There was a flood of relief and a little happiness. However, after so long without more than a few words with Alistair, it was harder to be excited than she'd have thought.
No, she didn't think it was a mistake. After all, she'd talked it over endlessly for weeks with her mother, who'd been allowed to come to Lochguard and stay with her.
But she and Alistair were basically strangers.
It wasn't the way she'd pictured having a baby.
Layla reached over and touched her hand. Kiyana met the doctor's gaze again, Layla's smile helping to wash away a little bit of her trepidation. Layla said softly, "It'll be all right, so don't try to worry. As long as you receive your scheduled dragon's blood injections from the Boyd brothers, you should survive. No matter what happens, I will always be fighting for you, Kiyana."
Tears prickled her eyes. "It's not that. I, well, what if my memory of Alistair is just that—a memory? Maybe he'll regret this."
The dragonwoman answered firmly, "No, he won't. He's brightened with every scrap of news about you. He wants to be your mate, Kiyana. He's a good male. Once he wakes up, I'll do my final check to ensure you can see him. And then I'll make sure you have some privacy, even if I have to tie Meg Boyd to a chair myself."
Her lips twitched at the image. "I think everyone would pay to see that."
Layla snorted. "There's the Kiyana I know. I suspect all the hormones have played havoc with your emotions, not to mention your body. Talk with Alistair before going down the rabbit hole of what ifs, aye?"
Taking a deep breath, Kiyana nodded. "But don't tell anyone else until after I've told Alistair, okay? He deserves to know first."
After squeezing her hand, Layla withdrew it and sat up straight. "Aye, of course." Something beeped in Layla's pocket. The doctor took out her phone, checked it, and slid it back. "Alistair's awake, so you may have that meeting sooner than you think. Stay here, aye? I'll have Logan check on you and let you know one way or the other if you can see Alistair."
She hoped with everything in her being, she could. Her life had been incomplete for the past three months. Sure, she'd made friends and had even watched one of the human women mate one of the Lochguard dragonmen. Not to mention she’d tried her best to help the other women, who hadn’t found a dragon of their own yet. However, it was hard trying to make a future when the one person who was supposed to be in it was locked away from you.
Not that it was done to harm her. But still.
Kiyana nodded. "I'll wait here. Although some tea and chocolate would be nice, to help settle my nerves."
Layla stood. "Logan will bring some right away, then. He's the only other one who knows about your pregnancy, which will work in your favor. Well, for now. Dragon-shifter males become even more overprotective when a female is pregnant. Ask for the moon, and any of them will fetch it."
She smiled. "That is some power right there."
Layla winked. "That it is. Until you get tired of it and have to yell at them to leave you alone. Which, don't be afraid to do." The doctor moved to the door. "I'll let you know about Alistair as soon as I can."
And then Kiyana was alone again. Not truly, as she placed a hand on her lower belly, remembering the baby growing there.
My child. Even if things didn't turn out perfectly in the end for her, she'd still have her baby. And since he or she was half dragon-shifter, it only made her more determined to bridge the knowledge gap between humans and dragons. After all, she didn't want people to fear her baby. And ideally, she wanted him or her to have both human and dragon-shifter friends and family.
Of course the child wasn't solely hers. And she needed to tell the father soon.