Taken by the Alien Next Door (Aliens Among Us #1) - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,134
you would’ve known. Tabitha is pregnant.”
“I…”
If there were words he’d meant to say, words he could’ve said, they were nowhere to be found. He kept his eyes on the nurse, but his focus was on nothing.
Baby. A baby. Tabitha was pregnant. She was with child…
With his child?
He gestured vaguely toward the door, body and mind numb with shock. “Can I…can I go and…”
The nurse smiled and nodded. “You can. Just let her rest, all right? I’ll be back to check on her in a little while. If you two need anything, just press the call button.”
Zevris felt as though he were in a daze as he stepped into the room. The sound of the door closing behind him was distant and muted and yet thunderously close. If any of the equipment in the room made any noise, he couldn’t hear it.
He walked forward, feeling oddly weightless despite his limbs being heavy as blocks of lead. Tabitha lay upon a lone hospital bed that had its top angled up to support her. She was wearing some sort of simple hospital gown, and there was a blanket tucked up to her chest, covering everything but her arms—the left one was bruised and scratched, bound in a wrist brace—and her left leg, which was elevated and wrapped in a cast. There was more bruising on her face, a line of stitches on her forehead, and her skin looked even paler than normal.
As much as he hated seeing her like this, she was alive—and she was beautiful.
He sank onto his knees beside the bed, carefully gathering her right hand in both of his. She didn’t move, didn’t respond to his touch. He’d almost lost her. He’d almost lost his lifemate, and he might never have known it.
He’d almost lost his child without ever knowing there was a child to begin with.
Zevris bowed his head and kissed her hand tenderly, reverently, desperately. His mate and his child… Both here, both safe. She was hurt, and that made him sick to his stomach, but she would be okay. He’d make sure of it.
And their child would be born healthy, would live a long, happy life, would be loved and nurtured and taught everything its parents knew.
Had her pregnancy been the reason for her illness? Was it related somehow? Had she known about it, or would it be news to her, also?
When would she wake? When would he see those lovely green eyes again, when would he be able to bask in the radiance of her smile? This was all so much to take in, and it was all coming so quickly. He had so many questions, so many lingering concerns, so many more emotions than had already been assailing him…
But for now, he welcomed only one of those emotions, allowing it to finally rise above all the rest. Relief.
He released a long, shaky breath, and settled his forehead atop her hand, brushing his thumb along her wrist.
“I love you, Nykasha,” he whispered hoarsely. “Come back to me soon.”
Twenty-Nine
Tabitha was lost in a fog; it was impenetrably thick, stiflingly heavy, and still. So, so still. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been here—or where here was—but there was something important in the back of her mind, something stuck just outside her reach. Something she knew but couldn’t remember…
The fog lifted slowly, so slowly at first that she scarce noticed it was dissipating. But as its withdrawal became more apparent, pain crept in to take the place of that cloying sensation. That pain encompassed her entire body, sinking into her bones, throbbing like a heartbeat, growing so agonizing that she whimpered.
That whimper was the sound that woke her. Her eyes snapped open. She was staring up at a white ceiling, and everything in her hurt, from her head right down to her toes.
Where was—
“Tabitha,” Zevris rasped from beside her. One of his hands closed over hers, while the other gently brushed her cheek.
Zevris.
Oh God, the accident…
She turned her head toward him. There were hints of tension and worry on his face—his skin looked just a little pale, and there was a crease between his brows—but his eyes lit up as she met his gaze, and his lips curled into a smile.
“Tabitha,” he said again softly, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.
“Zevris…” she whispered before she burst into tears. Her throat constricted, making it difficult to breathe, and her flowing tears stung the cuts they came into contact with. Crying was painful, but she couldn’t stop.