answered, looking slightly annoyed. “Dragon blood is dominant, always.”
“No surprise there. So ... a wyvern is the most impor tant person in the sept. Why don’t the sept members want a full-blooded dragon at the helm?”
“Human blood is required for a wyvern because long ago it was proven that the mixture of dragon and human brought about the best attributes in both species, but most importantly, it heightened the dragon qualities so they stood out above others.”
“So...” I sat back and allowed the waiter to place before me a plate of sesame chicken salad, waiting until he’d placed Drake’s and Jim’s lunches down and left the room before finishing up my thought. “Basically, you’re saying that diversity strengthens the gene pool?”
“That is a gross oversimplification of a complicated genetic situation, but it is in effect true.”
“Gotcha. What has this to do with me?”
Drake speared a piece of chilled marinated steak. “I am a wyvern. I have a human parent. You are a human. It is against the rules of nature for a wyvern to take a human mate.”
“Why?” I asked, wondering if that was the rule Dmitri had referred to.
“Because too much human blood can dilute the dragon genes. Diversity is one thing—dilution to the extinction of dragonkin is another. Thus, for you to be my mate regardless of this fact indicates that we were intended to be together, no matter what the consequences.”
“You’re talking about children, aren’t you?” I asked, setting down my fork, annoyed that even Drake would bring up this silliness. “Look, I don’t know what Pal told you he overheard, but I’m not pregnant. I’ve never been set-your-calendar-by-it sort of reliable, so if everyone would lighten up about this, I’d be . . .” The words dried up on my lips at the sight of the emotions that passed over Drake’s face: incomprehension, surprise, followed quickly by a fierce expression of utter and complete possessive ness that made me realize that until I’d opened my big mouth he hadn’t the slightest inkling about that whole pregnancy business.
“You’re pregnant,” he finally said, a little wisp of smoke escaping from his nose.
I slapped my hands on the table on either side of my plate and stood up. “No, I’m not. I just said I’m not! Why does no one believe me?”
“We mated several weeks ago,” Drake said, his eyes narrowing on me, but I had a feeling he wasn’t really see ing me. I could almost hear his brain working as he cast his mind back over the last month. “We had unprotected sex. Frequently. If you were in the middle of your cycle . . . yes, it is possible.”
“Possible is not the same thing as probable. Anything is possible, as Amelie is always telling me. But this is not happening, Drake. So wipe that pushy, going-to-tick-Aisling-off look right off your face. Yes, we didn’t use birth control. But it was only for a few days, and since I was newly mated, my body probably hadn’t changed over to mate yet.”
Drake just looked at me, the only sound being Jim as it snored its way through its postlunch nap.
“It doesn’t work like that?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I sighed. “Great. Now I have to go get an at-home pregnancy kit before the breakdown gets a good grip on me.”
“That will not do you any good,” Drake cautioned as I pushed my plate aside and grabbed my purse. My ap petite was gone, shriveled into nothing in the sudden, gripping worry that everyone was right and I was wrong.
“Why? Jim, wake up. We have to find a pharmacy right away.”
“Huh?” Jim asked, its voice sleepy as it shook itself awake. “What’s up?”
“The chemicals that a human test uses to determine pregnancy are not relevant with a mate,” Drake answered, standing when I headed for the door.
Jim’s eyes opened wide as it whistled. “Oh, man. You told him, and you didn’t let me hear? I miss all the good stuff!”
“Fine. I’ll use a dragon one, then,”
“No surprise there. So ... a wyvern is the most impor tant person in the sept. Why don’t the sept members want a full-blooded dragon at the helm?”
“Human blood is required for a wyvern because long ago it was proven that the mixture of dragon and human brought about the best attributes in both species, but most importantly, it heightened the dragon qualities so they stood out above others.”
“So...” I sat back and allowed the waiter to place before me a plate of sesame chicken salad, waiting until he’d placed Drake’s and Jim’s lunches down and left the room before finishing up my thought. “Basically, you’re saying that diversity strengthens the gene pool?”
“That is a gross oversimplification of a complicated genetic situation, but it is in effect true.”
“Gotcha. What has this to do with me?”
Drake speared a piece of chilled marinated steak. “I am a wyvern. I have a human parent. You are a human. It is against the rules of nature for a wyvern to take a human mate.”
“Why?” I asked, wondering if that was the rule Dmitri had referred to.
“Because too much human blood can dilute the dragon genes. Diversity is one thing—dilution to the extinction of dragonkin is another. Thus, for you to be my mate regardless of this fact indicates that we were intended to be together, no matter what the consequences.”
“You’re talking about children, aren’t you?” I asked, setting down my fork, annoyed that even Drake would bring up this silliness. “Look, I don’t know what Pal told you he overheard, but I’m not pregnant. I’ve never been set-your-calendar-by-it sort of reliable, so if everyone would lighten up about this, I’d be . . .” The words dried up on my lips at the sight of the emotions that passed over Drake’s face: incomprehension, surprise, followed quickly by a fierce expression of utter and complete possessive ness that made me realize that until I’d opened my big mouth he hadn’t the slightest inkling about that whole pregnancy business.
“You’re pregnant,” he finally said, a little wisp of smoke escaping from his nose.
I slapped my hands on the table on either side of my plate and stood up. “No, I’m not. I just said I’m not! Why does no one believe me?”
“We mated several weeks ago,” Drake said, his eyes narrowing on me, but I had a feeling he wasn’t really see ing me. I could almost hear his brain working as he cast his mind back over the last month. “We had unprotected sex. Frequently. If you were in the middle of your cycle . . . yes, it is possible.”
“Possible is not the same thing as probable. Anything is possible, as Amelie is always telling me. But this is not happening, Drake. So wipe that pushy, going-to-tick-Aisling-off look right off your face. Yes, we didn’t use birth control. But it was only for a few days, and since I was newly mated, my body probably hadn’t changed over to mate yet.”
Drake just looked at me, the only sound being Jim as it snored its way through its postlunch nap.
“It doesn’t work like that?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I sighed. “Great. Now I have to go get an at-home pregnancy kit before the breakdown gets a good grip on me.”
“That will not do you any good,” Drake cautioned as I pushed my plate aside and grabbed my purse. My ap petite was gone, shriveled into nothing in the sudden, gripping worry that everyone was right and I was wrong.
“Why? Jim, wake up. We have to find a pharmacy right away.”
“Huh?” Jim asked, its voice sleepy as it shook itself awake. “What’s up?”
“The chemicals that a human test uses to determine pregnancy are not relevant with a mate,” Drake answered, standing when I headed for the door.
Jim’s eyes opened wide as it whistled. “Oh, man. You told him, and you didn’t let me hear? I miss all the good stuff!”
“Fine. I’ll use a dragon one, then,”
Similar Books
