CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Sitting in the clinic's waiting area the following day, Viper idly scanned the room. It was fairly basic with its white walls, generic framed pictures, rows of padded seats, informational posters, and wall-mounted TV.

It was apparently typical of the doctor to hold private ultrasound scans during out-of-clinic hours. Which explained why the receptionist desk was unattended.

The only people there were him, Ella, Dice, and Mia. The VP would guard the door while the rest of them went inside for the scan. Mia had nagged at Ella to allow her to attend the ultrasound, and she'd eventually caved.

Ella had worked a glamor spell on him and Dice, altering their appearance to conceal their identities. They didn't want word of the pregnancy to get out before they were ready to share it.

She turned to him, worrying her lower lip. "I just telepathically reached out to the baby. They're nervous. Why would they be? Is something wrong?"

"They're nervous because you're nervous. They'll respond to your emotional state."

Her face fell. "Now I feel bad."

"Don't." To distract her, Viper splayed his hand on Ella's thigh as he asked, "Where and how do you want to break the news of the pregnancy to your family and Luka?" They'd decided to do it tomorrow, but they hadn't gone into specifics yet.

Grimacing, she replied, "At my apartment would be best. We want to keep the pregnancy on the downlow, so a public place is out,—the risk of them using their indoor voices is minimal. And we can't exactly take them to the clubhouse. I suppose I could invite them for dinner and just blurt it all out there and then; tell them all at once."

Sitting on her other side, an eavesdropping Mia said, "That'll work. I don't think you should tell them ahead of time that Viper will be there, though. They'll arrive all worked up. That won't help."

Dice looked at Ella. "Do you think your family or anchor will want you to get rid of the baby?" he asked, a deceptive casualness in his voice.

"No," she replied without missing a beat. "But they'll be pissed that I kept my relationship with Viper from them."

"They'll be equally pissed at me," Viper pointed out, "so at least we can shoulder their reactions together."

Ella pressed her lips together. "Don't take this the wrong way, but say as little as possible to them."

He felt his mouth kick up. "Just smile and look pretty?"

"The more you remind them that you're there, the more annoyed they'll feel."

"I'll let you do the majority of the talking. But if they step out of line, I will speak up. They don't get to yell or give you a hard time." Viper draped his arm over the back of her chair. "I doubt they tell you every little thing that happens in their lives. Just keep that fresh in your mind."

Ella placed a hand on her belly. "I worry they'll say stuff that'll upset the baby."

Viper covered her hand with his own. "It won't hurt them. I don't think."

Her head twitched to the side. "You don't think?"

"Well, if it feels threatened or worries you're unsafe, it might at least try to intervene."

She went still, unease flickering over her face. "Define ‘intervene'."

"I can't. I don't know exactly what tricks the baby's got in their psychic hat yet." Viper was intrigued to find out. "They're less likely to act if I'm with you because they'll feel more secure. They'll trust that I'll keep you both safe."

A door to their left opened, and a middle-aged blonde in a white lab coat stepped out of the room. At that, they all stood.

She aimed a professional smile at their group. "Mia, I didn't realize you'd be here. I'm guessing this is your sister, Ella. Hello, there." Her gaze moved from Viper to Dice. "And you two men are?"

"Remember I said there'd be questions we may not answer?" Mia asked the doctor as they all approached her. "This is one of them."

"Fair enough. Let's get the scan underway."

Viper gently urged Ella into the room. Mia followed, but Dice remained outside to stand guard on the other side of the door.

The room they entered was a clinical white with only three chairs, a small table, a narrow bed, and a bunch of medical equipment.

The doctor offered her hand to Ella, who quickly shook it. "I'm Dr. Greene. Mia tells me that you're roughly three weeks into your pregnancy."

"That's right," Ella told her with a nod. "I drank plenty of water in advance, my bladder is as full as it can get."

"Excellent. It'll make the ultrasound image clearer." Greene turned on the ultrasound machine and pressed some buttons. "If you could just lay down here for me and raise your t-shirt, that would be great."

Ella lay on the bed and inched up her tee. She grimaced when the doctor squirted gel on her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Viper asked, his brows snapping together.

"It's cold," she groused, taking his hand. A hand she squeezed tight when Greene placed a handheld probe over her lower abdomen. "I'd better not pee."

Stifling a smile, Viper dropped a kiss on her head. A frantic beat sounded. Fast as butterfly wings. And then a somewhat cloudy image popped up on the screen.

Sidling up to him, Mia spoke to the doctor. "I thought you said having a full bladder would make the image clear."

"Generally, it would," Greene told her, not looking away from the screen as she moved the probe along Ella's belly. "But there seems to be an extra layer around the fetus. Almost a womb within a womb." She glanced at Ella, curiosity lighting her eyes.

"No questions," Mia reminded the doctor.

She nodded. "Right."

Anxiety battering at her, Ella telepathically reached out to Viper and asked, Why would I have two wombs?

His mind softly stroked hers. You don't. All celestial babies grow with their own protective film; it's normal. Our baby may be half demon, but it seems they still have the added layer.

And this is a good thing? It's basically extra protection for them?

Yes. Viper gave her hand a light squeeze. Stop worrying, all's good.

Blowing out a steadying breath, she concentrated firmly on the monitor. She could make out the baby's outline. Could see the little head and body. The vision made her swallow hard, her mouth automatically curving.

"I can't tell you the gender, but I can tell you the fetus is more physically developed than I would have expected." Greene spared Ella a swift glance. "I think you may be further along in the pregnancy than you thought. At least by another three weeks."

Or Ella was simply destined to have a shorter pregnancy, much like celestials. But she couldn't say that.

Viper swiped his thumb over the back of her hand. "Does everything look good?" he asked Greene.

"It's hard to say for absolutely certain—the image is just so murky because of the added layer no one wants to explain to me," Greene replied, moving the probe this way and that.

Ella gasped as the baby kicked at it.

Greene blinked. "Oh, the fetus doesn't like that, does it?"

Ella felt its consciousness flutter against hers, and she had the impression of cold and discomfort.

The image on the screen froze as the machine faltered, stuttering and rattling. And Ella just knew the little menace in her womb was responsible.

As Greene removed the probe and began pressing buttons on the machine, Ella exchanged a look with her sister, who looked close to laughing. Yeah, her demon thought it was hilarious too.

Ella lightly touched the baby's mind. You're fine, the machine can't hurt you, I promise.

Eventually, the ominous noises stopped.

She peered up at Viper to find his eyes smiling, a hint of pride there.

Greene let out a long breath. "I think we'd better print out the image on the screen in case the machine stops working altogether." She jabbed a button. There was a short whir as it printed out a small black and white picture. The doctor handed it to Ella with a smile. "Unfortunately, it's not the clearest image."

It was perfect . Would have been perfect no matter what, because it was her baby. She looked up at Viper again, finding him staring down at the picture, his lips curled; his eyes twin gems of wonder and contentment.

His gaze breezed over to hers, and his mouth canted up a little more. They look kind of like a peanut, but I'm all there for it.

She snorted, gratefully accepting the paper towel Greene handed to her, listening as the doctor reeled off all the various symptoms she could expect to experience. One made her blink. "Wait, power-hiccups?" she repeated, wiping the gel from her abdomen.

"You may not have the same level of control over your demonic abilities, or it may be that you instead struggle to access them," Greene explained. "You may not experience the issue, but I thought it best to warn you." Having switched off the ultrasound machine, she stood. "Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and raw fish. We'll have regular scans so we can keep an eye on things. Mia gave you my number; call me any time if necessary."

Ella righted her tee and slipped off the bed. "Thank you." She shook the doctor's hand once more and then walked out of the room with the others. Smiling down at the picture she held, she swallowed. "Psychically, the baby doesn't feel so small. It has a strong presence, if you know what I mean. But it's so tiny ." She showed the picture to Dice, who smiled down at it.

Viper curled an arm around her shoulders. "I can see you're panicking at just how physically vulnerable the baby is right now, but no one will harm them, Ella."

Maybe not physically , she thought, but the reactions of her family might emotionally hurt the baby.

Ella wanted her loved ones to be as excited by the pregnancy as she was. She wanted them to welcome the baby. More, she wanted them not to plot Viper's death.

If the baby was really as advanced as Viper claimed, it wouldn't be at all oblivious to their reactions. It would know if they were unhappy. It'd be hurt. She loathed the thought of that.

God knew how her demon would react to her family's disapproval about the pregnancy. It didn't love them—had no capacity to feel the emotion. But it valued them; it had formed a strong attachment to each of them. Still, it would want to butcher them alive if it perceived them as any kind of threat to the baby.

Ella didn't for one second believe they'd harm the baby or in any way press her to abort it. No, they'd be disapproving. Worried. Wary of what it might be able to do. But they'd love it. Her demon would know that deep down . The problem? She couldn't rely on the entity to be entirely rational when it was so on edge with hyped-up overprotectiveness.

It wouldn't kill Luka, of course—to kill its anchor would be to harm itself. But it would certainly put him through a shitload of pain.

Outside the clinic, they walked to a nearby alley and—once sure no one was watching them—teleported back to the compound. Viper led the way into the main area … just in time for them to watch Razor hurl a coaster at Ghost like it was a damn boomerang.

"Stop being an ass," Razor growled at him.

Ghost shrugged. "I don't know how." Noticing that Ella and the others had returned, he grinned. "Quick question: what about the name Clark for the baby if it's a boy?"

Jester sighed. "Stop suggesting names of superheroes. Why are you so obsessed with them?"

"Not obsessed," Ghost objected. "I just identify with them, you know?"

Jester stared at him steadily. "No, I don't know. There's no reason why you should."

Ella only rolled her eyes at the spectacle. Her sister and Dice headed over to the little bar while she allowed Viper to lead her out of the room and into the hallway that led to the kitchen. It didn't do much to muffle the noise coming from the main area. The place could never be described as quiet, but she didn't mind that. And she liked that her child would be surrounded by people—all of whom she just knew would be glad to shower it with whatever attention they could.

Again, she looked down at the picture in her hand, smoothing a crinkle out of the corner, marveling at the sight of her baby. She was honestly a little terrified to be a parent, but it was a good sort of fear. The kind that was edged with excitement.

She looked at Viper, only then realizing … "You never talk about your own parents."

He spared her a quick glance. "I never knew them well. I'm a fourth son. We're given to the holy host when we're young."

Her lips parting, she halted in a horrified shock. "Oh, my God. How young?"

He stopped walking. "Six. We're put through all sorts of education and training to prepare us for the life of a soldier. Parents know this is going to happen, have no way to stop it, and so tend to hold back from you in the hope it will make the separation better for all concerned."

He said it all so dispassionately. As if it was nothing. But then, maybe a person would have to convince themselves it was nothing in order to emotionally survive it. "This is a rule in the upper realm?"

"Exemptions are made for some—mostly those with status—but not many."

"That's just so unbelievably cruel."

Viper looped an arm tight around her. "Don't feel sad for me, baby. It's cold, I know, but I never knew any different growing up. It's such a common thing that it's accepted as normal. That said, I'd never intended to have children for that very reason." His gaze lowered to her belly. "But this is different. I'm not up there anymore. No child we have would be taken from us that way."

Unless the Uppers tried to kill the baby, which Ella was resolved would never happen.

Viper pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't let this spoil your mood. I'd take you on a ride to cheer you up, but it ain't safe while you're pregnant."

She knew that, but still she pouted. "I'll miss it."

"After the baby's born, we'll go out for a ride—you and me. My brothers will watch over Peanut for us."

"Or Mia can do it." It was more of a statement than a suggestion.

His brows lifted. "You don't think my brothers would make trusted babysitters?"

Ghost barreled out of the door clad in a damn superhero suit and started dashing down the hall with his arms out straight at his sides, mimicking a bird in flight.

Ella cleared her throat. "To be honest, no, I don't."

"So Ghost wouldn't make a good sitter," Viper ceded. "But the others would."

Just then, Razor came striding down the hallway with a blade in each hand—both of which were covered in crackling ultraviolet flames. "You're dead, Ghost, I fucking swear it!"

Her nose wrinkled. "Hmm, you sure about that?" she asked Viper.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Fuck these assholes."

She chuckled.