The Clone’s Mate by Susan Trombley

Forty

All three of my mates sat with me, crowding the examining room, as I waited for the results of my scan and blood tests.

Nirgal and Ilyan looked very sexy in their uniform biosuits, though their expressions were as nervous as mine probably was. Subject 34 kept his facial plating closed, which was not typical when he didn’t feel threatened.

Ilyan and Nirgal had been cautiously excited when we discussed the possibility of me being pregnant this morning. Subject 34 had closed up—literally—at the suggestion that any child I might be carrying could be his.

The Akrellian physician walked into the room, nodding at my mates in greeting, familiar with them now, since they came into contact during their time working at the center. Then he turned to face me, and I struggled to read his expression. My stomach dropped as I noted that he wasn’t smiling. Perhaps he was gearing himself up to disappoint me.

He skirted around my mates to stand in front of me, asking me a few questions that I answered in a shaking voice, too nervous now to hide it.

Then he did smile toothily, but it was too cautious for my comfort. “You are pregnant, Rhonda, though it is still very early.”

I exhaled the breath I’d been holding, feeling lightheaded as I dropped my head back on my chair, my eyes closing.

“I’m sorry if this isn’t the news you wanted to hear,” the doctor said, laying a compassionate hand on my shoulder.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes, sucking in a deep breath before answering. “No, it is.” I glanced from one of my mates to the other. “It really is!”

His smile widened as he nodded. “That’s good then, because your test results look promising, and the scan showed two healthy implantations that are developing normally—for hybrids.”

My brows lifted and my eyes widened with my shock as all my mates froze.

“Two?” Ilyan asked, raising a hand to run it through his verdant hair, mussing the usual smooth length of it with his agitation.

“Fraternal twins, as the humans say,” the doctor answered him with a glance towards me. “It’s still very early in the pregnancy, so we can’t be entirely certain, but we believe from initial scans that one of them is the offspring of Subject 34 and the other an Iriduan-human hybrid.”

The doctor wasn’t a fan of referring to my mate as a “subject” but my monster had taken that name quite proudly, and had no intention of changing it for a less “objectifying” moniker.

Believe me, we’d tried to convince him to take on a different name, and we even made several good suggestions, but he wasn’t having it. As far as he was concerned, he was Subject 34. 34 for short. Whenever he dug in his heels, the discussion was over.

Right now, he twitched at the news as if someone had hit him with a cattle prod, making a chitter-growl sound that I hadn’t heard him utter since we left the research facility.

My happiness at this incredible news dimmed a bit at 34’s unexpectedly negative response to the idea of me having his child. I still couldn’t see his face, and all his defenses were up as he moved to stand as far from the rest of us as possible in the tight confines of the exam room.

The doctor shot several nervous glances at him before returning his attention to me. “I’d like to discuss this further with you, but I can see that the news has come as… some surprise. Would you like me to give you and your mates some time to talk alone before we continue?”

I nodded quickly, though I was eager to hear the rest of the doctor’s information. Something was up with Subject 34. He’d given me his seed, so why was he so freaked out at the thought of me having his child?

I was crushed at the thought that he might not want it. He certainly hadn’t seemed happy about it this morning, and now his response was even more pronounced.

The doctor left the room and Nirgal and Ilyan flanked me, each placing a hand on my shoulders as we all looked at Subject 34.

“You’re not happy about this, are you, 34?” I couldn’t hide the hurt in my voice, and both my Iriduans squeezed my shoulder reassuringly as they glowered at 34.

“34 seed hurt family.” All four of his fists clenched, the tips of his stingers poking out from behind him as if he felt threatened.

“Giving me your seed didn’t hurt us.” I shook my head as I looked from Ilyan to Nirgal, then back to 34. “I’m happy that I’m finally going to get to be a mom! And Ilyan and Nirgal have already told you that they want to be dads. Why would you think getting me pregnant would be a bad thing?”

He shifted his attention between the three of us, his defensive stance not relaxing. “Rhonda not swell with seed from fancy mates. 34 think safe to give seed too.”

My mouth gaped as I stared at him, finally comprehending his words. “You didn’t think you could get me pregnant? You thought I was still sterile?”

He crossed his upper arms over his chest, his lower arms still clenched into fists. He nodded once, short and abrupt.

I blinked back tears, my lashes fluttering madly to keep them from breaking loose. Still, I already felt that I wouldn’t be able to hold back the waterworks for long. “Why did you…,” I struggled to speak, feeling the sob building in my throat as I lifted a hand to my mouth, “why give me your seed at all, 34, if you didn’t want a baby with me?”

His wings flicked with distress he rarely showed as he saw my reaction and realized that he was hurting me. My Iriduans weren’t happy about it either. Ilyan stroked his hand over my back and Nirgal brushed my hair away from my face that was growing damp despite my best efforts to keep the tears at bay.

“34 give seed because fancy mates give. Not want to be left out.”

I couldn’t hold back the sob anymore, shaking my head as I turned my face away from him. I tried to hide it with my hands as Ilyan pulled me close and Nirgal snapped something at Subject 34 that I didn’t hear in my own distress. Only the coldness of his voice registered. I hadn’t heard him speak to 34 like that since the control chip was in 34’s brain.

“Tell her why you fear your own offspring,” Ilyan said with a lot more calm than Nirgal was displaying.

I lifted my head from his chest in surprise, sniffling as I rubbed the tears from my eyes. Nirgal had Subject 34 uncharacteristically cornered and cowering away from the smaller male as he lashed him with cold words about hurting his mate. The accusation seemed to injure 34 more than the control chip ever had.

34 looked at me, his facial plates still closed. “34 seed kill. Like 34. Kill everyone. Maybe even family.”