Titus's P.O.V
Vladimira puts a hand over her mouth once I say that. "I think I'm going to be sick," She mutters before shooting up and sprinting to the bathroom.
By the time I get there, she's already bent over the toilet, spewing her lunch into the toilet mercilessly.
I walk behind her and pull her hair out of the way. "Are you ok, My Queen?" I question with true worry.
A sob breaks through the disgusting dry heaving she's doing. "No!" She pouts while pulling the toilet seat down and leaning against the cabinets on the floor. "My father's a complete as*hole, my mother died during childbirth so I don't know how to raise a d*mn child, and then... there's you," She cries.
"Me?" I wonder, my finger pointing to myself as I join her on the bathroom floor. "What the hell did I do?"
She throws her head back against the sink cabinets. "You got me pregnant! That small, little one-night stand broke the small, little string holding my relationship with my father together."
We sit in silence after that just staring at each other's face, the kiss we shared long forgotten.
But, it didn't feel right to kiss Vladimira like she was my mate, to be honest, it felt like I was betraying Ellery.
Doesn't it feel like she's betraying Adam?
"Tell me about Adam," I whisper.
Vladimira smiles. "He was a shy guy, and I was kind of surprised that he came out of his shell for me. Anyway, my father didn't know about our relationship, so we snuck around behind his back. A lot.
"Gosh, between going on adventures late at night to having risky sex when my dad was home, we fell deeply love, something that I could never do again probably." She begins to cry again.
My hands find hers soothingly, shushing her cries. "Why don't I tell you what happened with Ellery?"
She didn't have time to agree before I was starting my story.
"Ellery was a trained assassin for her old pack—I'm pretty sure your father made them extinct—but they were a small pack, about twenty of them in total.
"She had many kills on her belt, and the only time she really stopped her crazy behavior is when we discovered we were mates." I suck in a breath after I close my eyes, trying to calm myself down to continue.
I open my eyes slowly. "It was too late then, Dmitri had already heard about her, and he was planning to execute her. No matter how much I pleaded with him, he still did it," I explain.
Anger burns in my veins for a fleeting second before I compose myself and look into Vladimira's eyes. "The execution was so sudden, and, in the end, Dmitri commanded me to make up a fake story to cover up Ellery's execution, hence why it says she died from moon fever in her file," I finish.
She's a rough topic for me to talk about. I try my best to stay off it, even in my thoughts I don't think about her a lot because I know I will break down like I did after her death.
Even my pack, the Cherokees, know to not talk about Ellery around me. Yet, people would never guess I lost a mate because I conceal it so well.
"Is that why you're enemies?" Vladimira's smooth voice meets my ears.
I nod. "We used to be the closest of friends, and then he threw away our friendship for the sake of his kingdom," I hiss through clenched teeth.
Vladimira laughs. "You're not the only one."
••
The next two days passed slowly, filled with me swooning over my unborn son and Vladimira, who is now writing in a journal every day.
Yet, somehow, during those two days, Vladimira had worked her magic with Collin, and now we were on our way to their pack doctor to have an ultrasound, despite Diana's graciousness to take care of all that herself.
"I want to see my baby with my own two eyes. It's not like I don't trust my grandmother, it's just... I want reassurance that only an ultrasound can bring," Vladimira explains as she readjusts the skirt that rests just below her bulging stomach.
Jesus, Vladimira was blessed with the body of a goddess! Even while she's pregnant, she can still excrete such a sensual aura that I can't help but admire her well-defined body.
My hand rests on her lower back that's beginning to curve to accommodate her growing bump. "I've never seen our child during an ultrasound, so this is a good opportunity for both of us," I agree.
Vladimira sends me a guilty look. "Yeah, I'm sorry about breaking your ribs, that was uncalled for," She apologizes.
"It's fin-"
"No, it's not," Vladimira cuts me off, "you were trying to be a father for our child and I pushed you away, that was wrong of me," She pushes.
Finally, I just place my hands on her cheeks gently and direct her eyes up to mine. "Stop worrying, My Queen. We're raising our child together now, right?" I ask softly.
Vladimira bobs her head before turning around and beginning to walk towards the entrance of Collin's pack hospital.
In all, it's a small pack, unlike mine. Not many people roamed the grounds outside, and from the looks of it, there isn't that many houses.
My best guess is that there's about one-hundred-twenty-five pack members.
When Vladimira entered the building, the pack doctor immediately walks in from the back room and bows.
Her eyes travel down her body to rest on her stomach that's covered by a white t-shirt. "It's an honor, Your Majesty. Please, follow me," She greets.
As we walk, I have time to examine the pack doctors frame.
She's short for a female werewolf, about four foot eleven. She has bright, blonde hair that's neatly tied back in a bun, and she's dressed in the typical medical scrubs.
"Do you mind if I take some measurements first before asking some questions?" The pack doctor asks as she opens the door to the room we'll be in.
Vladimira smiles. "That's fine," She responds smoothly before turning to me, "you can wait in the room while that happens. I won't be long."
I nod in understanding and take a seat in the chair next to the bed with the crinkly, white paper on it.
While I wait, I lean back in the chair and release a breath. "You're going to be a daddy, Titus. Are you ready for this?" I mutter to myself.
Probably not.
How the hell will I change diapers? Lose multiple hours of sleep? Bond with the baby?
Shit, will the baby even like me?
"There's so many things to sort out!" I groan.
Vladimira and I live on two different borders, how will we raise the baby together? Will we have to do a switch off with the baby?
'Don't worry about all this right now, worry about that when we aren't focusing on our son,' Nixon instructs.
I nod in agreement. 'You're right,' I reply.
My thoughts come to a stop when the door opens to reveal Vladimira and the pack doctor.
The pack doctor motions for Vladimira to get on the table. "From what you told me about your weight, it seems like you're doing better with maintaining it now than before," She comments.
I rest my hand on Vladimira's stomach once she's sitting down. She has no problem with letting me caress her stomach.
"I am!" Vladimira smiles, her red hair cascading down her back.
The pack doctor gasps. "Forgive me! My name is Gracie." She shoves her hand out for us to shake, once we do, she pulls out a bottle of ultrasound gel. "Shall we get started?"
Vladimira pushes her shirt up and watches as Gracie squirts the cool gel on her stomach.
"Alright," She mutters while pushing buttons on the ultrasound machine and resting the wand on Vladimira's stomach. "Your baby is about the size of a grapefruit."
For some reason, I start to laugh.
There's a little grapefruit werewolf inside of the Luna Queen and it's mine. Is it normal that I feel the need to keep both of them for myself?
Vladimira looks at me skeptically. "What's so funny?" She asks.
I shrug. "My... Our son is a little grapefruit," I mutter with a smile on my lips.
Gracie peaks at us through the corner of her eye as if she's wondering what's going on with the Luna Queen and the alpha of the Cherokee Pack.
Considering the single kiss Vladimira and I shared, I really don't know what kind of relationship we have going on here.
I direct my attention back to the screen and stare at the blobs of black and white.
Amid the black and white, I can make out the babies head and maybe even a hand and a foot!
"Wow," I whisper, astounded. "That's my baby, huh?" I ask to know one in particular as I lean back.
Vladimira smiles at me. "Can you believe we're doing this? Having a baby?" She lowers her voice so Gracie doesn't hear.
Excitement eats away at my insides suddenly. "No, but this baby opens up so many opportunities in my life," I answer.
She leans closer so our faces are inches away. "Too many possibilities if you ask me." Her warm breath blows against my face gently.
A flame of lust ignites in my body, but before I can pull Vladimira's lips to mine, she pulls back and returns her eyes to the screen.
"Your pack doctor checked for multiples, right?" Gracie wonders.
My eyes wonder to Vladimira's blue ones.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure, but you can check again just to be sure."
Gracie begins to move the wand around slowly, showing us different angles of our growing child.
Love swells up inside of me as I, surprisingly, fight back tears.
Gosh, I've killed so many people, but looking at this innocent, fragile, little being that I made makes me feel so proud, so virile... so young—even though I'm anything but!
Courteously, I shift my hand to pick up Vladimira's and wait for her to look at me, once she does, I kiss her knuckles. "I'll be by your side through this whole thing. Push me away all you want, but you can't get rid of me," I notify her.
The look that comes over her face is one of surprise and delight, but it's ruined when Gracie clears her throat.
"There's no multiples; you are indeed having a singleton pregnancy. Your baby is healthy, and looks fit to be a future alpha," Gracie smiles.
••
Karina was gone when we got back to apartment after the appointment. According to the note she left, she had gone to lunch with Katalina.
That left me alone with Vladimira...
My lips graze hers gently as I move her legs so she's straddling me. Her skirt rides up slightly, giving me a peak of her thighs.
She releases a moan when I grab her head to leave a trail of kisses down neck.
"Aaron," I mutter against her neck.
Like expected, she pauses. "What?" She asks breathlessly.
I lift my head so I can stare into her eyes. "Aaron. I like the name Aaron for our son."
Vladimira smiles, her thumb brushing against my cheek. "Ok. I'll add it to the list."