Rhona turned to Aislinn only just realizing that Aislinn might not be familiar with how lycan pregnancies go. “Um, well they’ll be born in about half the time of a normal human pregnancy. So if you take nine months and turn that into four and a half, then you’re looking at being closer to three months along human-wise right now.”
Aislinn was staring a bit wide-eyed. “Is there anything else I need to know about this?”
“Not that I can think of right now. Make sure to start eating more. I know you’ve been feeling sick, but I don’t want you losing any more weight. If you have any more questions I’ll be happy to answer them.”
Aislinn nodded at the first comment and then shook her head at the second.
“Alright then. You’re all done for now. Go get some lunch.” Rhona smiled at her. Aislinn wasn’t the first woman to leave the infirmary in shock after having been told she was pregnant. Rhona was pretty sure, based on the smile she got when Aislinn heard the heartbeats, that she’d come around relatively quickly. Then she started chuckling to herself as she imagined Cullen a father.
***
Aislinn was stepping out of the elevator on the 13th floor as Cullen was stepping in. They both gave each other a long suffering look. Neither knew what the other’s problem was but they were both relatively unhappy at the moment. Aislinn was annoyed with that because if she hadn’t been so concerned about what was happening to her she would have know what was bothering Cullen.
“Lunch,” he asked.
Aislinn nodded. So he backed her into the elevator and hit the button for the lobby and the Taigh-Oèsda. Aislinn sighed heavily. She had recently been thinking that she was eating too much rich food since she had access to the town’s best steak house on a nightly basis. But she figured that it didn’t matter now. At least not for another three months. She suddenly put her hand on her stomach as she thought about that. I’m going to be a mother in three months? She was careful to keep that thought to herself.
Cullen stared at her and wondered opening what was going through her mind to have her looking so distressed. “Aislinn?”
She snapped her head up and dropped her hand from her stomach. “Yeah?”
He stared into her eyes. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” she said unconvincingly.
“Okay. I don’t believe you. But okay.” He was annoyed. “Well I’m upset because Cadifor wants you to take Jenna out to the circle and let her talk to Brennus. See how easy that was?”
“What,” she said as if she didn’t know what he was getting at.
“Me telling you what the problem was. But you could have found that out from me without me saying it out loud,” he said with the annoyance leaking though his voice.
“Cullen,” she said in a kind of pleading way. “I’m okay. I am. I just need to think about this a minute. Then I’ll tell you. Just I need to think first.”
Cullen looked deep into her eyes. She could feel him probing her head for reassurance. “Alright,” he said with genuine concern.
She kissed him. “I love you,” she said.
Cullen melted a little. He couldn’t be upset with her when she said that. He sighed and kissed her back. They walked out of the lobby and headed for the restaurant, hand in hand. There was a pretty omega at the door and she held it open for Cullen and Aislinn. The Taigh-Oèsda had only just opened for the day. Cullen and Aislinn took their usual booth without waiting for the hostess and were immediately given menus that they didn’t look at, placed their orders and then stared at each other for a minute.
Aislinn cleared her throat. She knew he’d be thrilled about it. She didn’t know why she was having such a hard time saying it. “So when do I deal with Jenna?”
“We’re meeting Cadifor tomorrow noon. I wanted to deal with it before the mating ceremony. You still do want to do the mating ceremony right?” He was guessing at what was upsetting her. “If it’s bothering you that much…”
“No, Cullen.” She wasn’t going to be able to keep it to herself. She wasn’t going to be able to think. He could feel her upset and her blocking and he wasn’t going to let it go. “The ceremony’s fine. I wouldn’t do that to you after all the setup and time. Besides I’m getting used to the idea.” She took a deep breath. He was staring at her with more and more concern. The waitress came back smiling sweetly at them. Everyone seemed to be smiling sweetly at them. It was driving her nuts. Maybe it’s the hormones. Aislinn watched the girl retreat from the table to go check on their order. “Cullen I’m pregnant,” she blurted out as soon as the girl disappeared into the kitchen. Then she turned her head to look at him and see how he was reacting.