A Mate for Kai (The Program Book 6) (12 page)

Kai gave her a small nod. His expression was still hard and unreadable.

“Okay then. Here’s a gown.” Becky handed her a soft garment. It was loose fitting. “The tie goes at the back. You need to be bared from the waist down.” She added the last unnecessarily.

Ruby nodded, she stood up and began to remove her top.

“No, no…” The female’s eyes widened. “You can change behind the screen over there.” She pointed to a partition.

“Oh.”

Kai was squeezing his neck again. He even stood up and began pacing.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

The vampire elder laughed softly. “An easy mistake, child.” The wrinkles around her eyes were more pronounced. Her gaze was filled with warmth. Ruby made her way behind the material partition and quickly changed into the gown.

When she emerged they were all standing by the bed.

“Good.” Becky gestured to the mattress. “Lie down over here.”

****

It was fucking killing him.

Destroying him.

How the hell could he be reacting to this female at a time like this? How could he react to her at all after what she had done? It was wrong. Despicable. He didn’t know where to look or what to do.

Kai caught sight of her perfect ass as her gown gaped when she pulled herself onto the bed. Tight yet full. He could picture her on all fours, that perfect ass up in the air.
No!
These thoughts were wrong. He made a choking noise and turned his eyes to the ceiling. She was so innocent about her nakedness. Ruby seemed so pure and innocent full-fucking-stop. Good thing he knew better. She was a liar and a fucking thief. Best he not forget.

“Are you okay?” Becky asked, her eyes glinted in humor. Bloody human! She saw right through him, that was for sure.

“Fine.” He ground out, sounding anything but.

“Let’s lift up your gown.” The doctor said, still smiling. This time, it was directed at Ruby.

Fuck no.

Please no.

“Sure.” Ruby pulled the fabric up over her belly. Her knees were bent. Her legs slightly parted. From this angle he couldn’t see much…thank fuck. His eyes were focused on her belly which seemed bigger now that it was uncovered.

His baby.

His son…or daughter?

“Is…” He cleared his throat. His voice was loud and like a fucking chain saw in this space. “Is there a chance we might have a girl?”

Ruby smiled. A fucking beautiful, radiant smile. It was pure joy. She rubbed her belly. By the way she touched it’s curve he could see it was something she did often. Hell, he’d seen her do it so many times already. She loved this child. That much was clear. Something tightened in his chest. She nodded. “There is a possibility…I think…” She frowned. “Do vampires have female children?”

He had to smile. “Yeah, we do.”

Her beautiful smile lifted the corners of her edible mouth. Where the fuck had that come from? He stopped the thought in its tracks. “Dragon shifters do too but it’s so rare. It practically never happens. I am the last of the royal females.” Her gaze turned wistful. He could see that she no longer saw him. That her mind was far away. “For so long I’ve prayed to the gods that I never have a female dragon.” Her hand gave a lazy rub over her belly. “It is strange for me to suddenly be wishing for just that…although…” She looked dismayed. “My biggest wish is for a healthy baby. I don’t mind either way.”

“Why would you not want a female child?” Kai blurted. It seemed weird considering the lack of female births.

Ruby tensed up. He could tell it was something she didn’t want to talk about.

Becky must have picked up on it too because she chose that moment to squeeze a liberal amount of gel onto Ruby’s stomach. “Let’s, hopefully, have a look at what’s going on in there.” She grabbed a device that fit snugly in her hand, it was attached by a wire to a large machine with a screen.

Becky spent a few minutes moving the device around on Ruby’s stomach. “You’re sure you haven’t felt any movement?”

Ruby shook her head.

“Not even something that felt like gas?” Becky glanced across at Ruby who shook her head. “I can’t see a damn thing.” She muttered to herself. “Nothing at all. A fluttery feeling? The feeling of bubbles?”

“No, nothing out of the ordinary. Aside from being two weeks overdue, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. The biggest worry aside from the child being shell-less…” Ruby pulled her bottom lip between her teeth for a few beats. “Is that the egg might end up hardening inside of me. During the release, the egg is meant to be soft and malleable, allowing for it to pass relatively easily from the female. It is for that reason we need to be very careful during the release. We need to make sure the egg does not drop from any tall distance. You see, if the shell gets damaged in any way…” She looked down at her belly before looking back up at Becky. “At any sign of labor, we try not to shift into dragon form because this can pose a threat to the egg as well.”

“You spoke about the egg hardening up.” Eleanor took a step towards the bed. “What did you mean by that?”

Ruby shrugged. “I’m trying not to think about it too much. Trying hard to stay positive. There is more risk of this happening if the release is overdue. Once the egg is released, the shell quickly hardens becoming almost unbreakable. It’s dangerous for the female if this happens inside of her. She can rip during the release. Be seriously injured or even die.”

Ruby chewed on her lip some more. “If the egg completely hardens inside a female, there is no way to free it without intervention. The only thing that works is a silver blade. By then, the female is usually in a weakened state and this almost always results in death.” She sucked in a deep breath.

Kai felt his hand shake.
No! Fuck!

The three females turned to look at him and it was then he realized that he shouted out the words instead of saying them in his mind.

Becky narrowed her eyes on him. “I’m sure that won’t be the case with Ruby.” She grabbed some paper towels from a nearby table and handed the wad to the dragon shifter.

“How can you be so certain?” The words left him before he could stop them.

The tiny female put her hands on her hips. “You know what, we don’t know for sure but Ruby is right, we need to stay positive. There was another birth, of twins, not so long ago that where against all odds, the vampire female gave birth to mixed twins. They are all happy and healthy now. It was Stephany’s main saying during the whole pregnancy. Stay positive. Stay calm and keep looking forward.” Her eyes bore into him for a few more seconds before she looked back at Ruby. “We’re here for you.” She gave Ruby’s arm a rub. “Both of you.” Her gaze softened as it landed on him once again. “Don’t hesitate if you’re worried about anything. You need to call me…or Eleanor or both of us. Now”—Becky paused as her gaze drifted to Eleanor—“would you like to do the internal?”

Eleanor shook her head. “By all means, you go right ahead.” Becky pulled on a rubber glove.

Internal. What the hell?

Ruby handed the used towel to Becky who threw it in the trash before returning to the bed. She positioned herself at the foot of the bed. “You’re going to need to open your legs a little wider for me, honey.” Hell no! An internal. Becky squirted some of the gel onto her gloved hand and rubbed her fingers together. He couldn’t look. He refused to look. Why the fuck had he looked?

God, he was such a prick. Such a fucking asshole. He made a noise that came out sounding pained. Kai looked away. He hated himself right now. She was pregnant and a liar but she was also afraid.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Becky move between Ruby’s legs. “Are there any signs before the release? Do you go into labor?”

Ruby nodded. “Yes, our bodies prepare in much the same way as a human females would. I have read several books on the subject. The only difference is our labor is quick, lasting somewhere between a half an hour and three hours at most. The actual releases are not nearly as traumatic. Like I said, the egg is soft. It’s a private moment. Dragon shifters prefer to be alone. It’s an instinctual need. The need to protect our egg while it’s vulnerable. I will need to be alone during my release. I might shift, I could hurt you if that happens. Shifting at that crucial time could damage the egg as well.” Ruby looked at the human doctor as she spoke. Kai noticed how her cheeks turned red. Becky faced away from him between Ruby’s thighs.

“Being alone at a time like that would not be a good idea,” Becky said.

“I would hate to hurt you.” Ruby repeated, swallowing thickly, her eyes locked with Becky’s and then with his.

“Trust me, I’m not as weak as I look.” Becky held her gloved hand in the air. Her fingers glistened with gel.

It wasn’t something Kai had even thought about. He’d always just assumed he would be there for the birth of his son. His son. Lately he’d envisioned a male because he thought he would end up with a human. A little girl. Maybe. Like Ruby had said, it didn’t matter.

“Even a vampire is no match for a dragon shifter. Particularly a female shifter trying to protect her egg. It would be better if I was alone. I will make sure of it.”

Becky gasped. Her eyes were wide and her skin pale. He’d never seen her looking this out of sorts. “If anything goes wrong. No, you need to tell us the moment you go into labor.”

Ruby shook her head.

“Yes.” It came out sounding harsh. “You must. I promise you we’ll move to a safe distance if need be. Kai could be there, Eleanor will definitely be present. We need to help you.”

Ruby nodded. “As you wish, but you will need to keep a safe distance.” She looked down at her belly as she spoke.

Becky’s shoulders sagged and she huffed out a breath. “Good. Don’t scare me like that. This is not a regular birth…release. You can’t be alone. We can talk about it some more.”

Ruby nodded, she gave Becky a half smile.

“Okay.” Becky lowered the gloved hand. “Let’s do this. It might be a little uncomfortable. It might even hurt a little. Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready. I can take the pain. I grew up with three brothers.”

“You’re lucky.” Becky said. “I’m a single child. I used to wish I had siblings.”

“It was so much fun.” Ruby’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “We used to get into so much trouble. I have two older and one younger brother. Not only did I scrape my knees and my elbows but I broke plenty bones along the way as well.” She smiled. “I can take the pain.”

Becky nodded. Her curls bounced. “Good to know.” Her voice was high. “Lucky you guys heal so quickly.”

“Yeah…we did such stupid things like jump off of cliffs and change into our dragon form at the last second. It didn’t always end well.” She pulled a face.

Eleanor made a humming noise low in her throat. “I’m pretty sure bones would’ve needed to be reset.”

“Quite a few. We were such terrors.” Ruby smiled. Especially Blaze and I we…” She let the sentence die. “We’re mature now. No more adventures.” She looked wistful. “I’m ready.”

“Breathe in deeply and hold your breath.” Becky instructed.

Ruby frowned. One hand clasped her belly while the other gripped the sheet. She was worried, if it wasn’t about the pain, then she was worried about the baby. That made two of them.

Becky put her arm forward. He could see that she moved it between Ruby’s legs but couldn’t see exactly what she was doing. Ruby flinched but if he had blinked, he would have missed it.

Becky withdrew her hand on a sigh. Gel glistened on her fingers. “Your cervix is tight. No sign of ripening.”

“What does that mean?” Ruby’s hand clutched the sheet tighter.

“Your womb is sealed tight.” Eleanor chimed in. “It doesn’t mean anything, child. Like Becky said earlier. Some females have a tight womb entrance one day and deliver the next.”

Becky nodded. “It is usually a sign that the baby is happy to stay inside for a bit longer. I don’t think you will go into labor any time soon.”

“That’s really bad.” Ruby shook her head. Her lip quivered ever so slightly.

Becky removed the glove, ensuring that she pulled it inside out, before tossing it in the trash. “You can cover up.” She gestured to Ruby’s robe. The shifter pulled the bunched up material down over her thighs. Thank fuck!

Becky sucked in a deep breath. “Bad?” She shook her head. “It might be bad for a dragon shifter but this is a mixed child. We don’t have much to go on. Not at all. This could be perfectly normal.” Becky shrugged.

“Could be. Should be. Maybe.” Ruby moved to sit more upright. She sniffed. Kai could see that she was trying not to cry. “We don’t know anything, do we?”

Fuck. The fear rolled off of her. He could scent it. Her eyes were filling with tears and her lip quivered some more. Kai moved towards the bed, he took her hand. “I will stay with you. You’re not alone anymore…remember.” He knew he sounded like a pussy and that his words would not be much help. He couldn’t give her the answers she sought. The ones they both sought, but at least it was something.

Ruby gave him the ghost of a smile. “Thank you.”

Kai couldn’t make himself let go of her. He should. He really should. He’d said his piece and offered comfort. His fingers only held on tighter to hers.