Chapter Fourteen
Diane couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she and Zane made their way upstairs the next morning. She’d been a good girl and taken blood samples from both herself and Zane, leaving them on the Professor’s desk. Regardless of his methods, he did have good intentions. She’d decided to try and support him, at least that way she might stay aware of what he planned and be in a place to intervene if needed. It was the best she could do.
She’d thoroughly enjoyed sleeping with Zane. They’d made love on and off all night. Sometimes, he’d woken her with soft caresses, and sometimes she’d brought him awake with gentle touches. Either way, it had ended the same—the two of them wrapped together finding pleasure again and again.
“Keep looking like that and I’ll take you right back downstairs. We won’t leave that bed for a week,” Zane warned.
Diane giggled again. Lord, she didn’t remember ever really giggling. “Don’t tempt me. I need to check on Abby and the baby and you need to talk to Tah.”
“Then stop tempting me with that lush ass of yours,” he said and swatted her sharply on it.
She was still laughing when they entered the hallway. The first person they ran into was Orsai.
“I was just coming to look for you,” he told Diane.
“What’s wrong?” Her laughter died immediately. “Is it Abby? The baby?”
He shook his head quickly, and she felt relief course through her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’d like you to take a look at Gideon with me. I’ve treated the wounds. The poison used is interesting, though.”
“What’s going on with it?”
“I need another set of eyes, and David has been busy since the baby was born. He’s overjoyed and acting as a grandfather. I hate to disturb him. He works too hard, carries too many burdens,” Orsai said.
“David?” Zane said.
“The Professor,” Diane clarified. No one called the Professor by his first name, and for the first time, Diane wondered why.
“He keeps too many secrets,” Diane murmured softly so her words wouldn’t carry past their small group.
Orsai’s eyes reflected a deep sadness as he nodded in agreement.
“He cares for everyone but himself. It will catch up to him one day,” Orsai warned.
With those cryptic words, he glanced back to Zane, and a bright smile bloomed across his face.
“It warms my heart to see you so happy, and congratulations are in order. I feared this day would never come.”
Diane turned in time to see Zane shaking his head at his uncle, and Orsai ceased talking.
“What?” she demanded. “What is it I don’t know?” She turned to Orsai. “Because I’m betting you’re not just referring to him being mated.”
Her mind spun, filtering through everything that had happened over the last few days. As realization dawned, she dropped her hands to her belly, and she lifted wide eyes to Zane.
“I’m pregnant?” she said and his gaze answered her before the nod ever came.
“You are,” Zane agreed. “I was waiting for the perfect time to tell you.”
“And you thought you’d have time with a house full of shifters who would be able to smell the change in me?” she demanded and laughed at the sheepish glance he gave her.
“I don’t seem to think at all around you,” Zane admitted, tugging her into his arms. “Unless it’s about how to make you scream with pleasure again and again.”
“Hush,” she said, placing her palm over his mouth. “You should have told me as soon as you suspected.”
His tongue traced her palm, making her gasp as heat shot a straight path down between her thighs, forcing her to clench them together. His teeth nipped her then he placed a kiss before moving her hand from his mouth.
“I should have. I’m sorry,” Zane offered. “Are you angry?”
“A little,” she said then smacked him hard on the chest at the devastated look in his eyes.
“Over you not telling me immediately,” she stated. “Not the baby. Never a baby.” A smile played at the edges of her lips before she finally gave in to it again. “We’re having a baby,” she said, and Zane nodded.
“Are you angry?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not only have I been blessed with the perfect mate, but the gods have blessed our union with a child. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Diane whispered and stretched up to meet him, their lips brushing and clinging in a kiss of joy.
When their mouths parted, Orsai stepped forward and hugged them both. “You have a strong woman for a mate,” he told Zane. “You will make strong children.”