Leveret grinned. "Yes, you are."
The joy bubbling up inside me burst like a geyser. I couldn't contain my laughter. It spilled out of me until I cried, my tears wetting Leveret's chest. He held me in his gentle embrace the whole time.
"Sorry," I mumbled when the flood of tears finally ended. If I wasn't so ecstatic, I'd be embarrassed at such a shameful display.
"Don't be." He wiped them away with a smile. "You're crying because you're happy."
"Are you?" I asked, gazing at him.
He beamed as he took my hands. Pure elation lit up his eyes. "Of course I am! Animus, you're all I've ever wanted."
Gods, it drove me wild when he said that. I nuzzled his neck, wanting to be as close as possible to my mate.
Myfatedmate.
"We're going to have a baby," I whispered. A giggle slipped into my voice, but I was too content to care how silly I sounded.
"We are. The cutest baby ever. And that's not an exaggeration."
I snorted with laughter. "I love your confidence, and I agree with it."
Images of our soon-to-be baby flashed in my mind. What would they be like? Would they look more like Leveret, or me? Would they be a shifter, too? My head buzzed with a thousand questions.
Leveret let go of my hands and snuck beneath my cape to touch my belly. The roaming circles of his hands on my skin tickled pleasantly.
"Do you think your belly will grow?" he asked.
"I don't know. As far as I know, I'm the first spirit to ever be pregnant."
Leveret's eyes sparkled with intrigue and a touch of sexy possessiveness. It made me want to push him into the sand and have my way with him.
Then I remembered Nautilus was still present.
My arousal would have to wait. I had too many questions, and he was the closest thing I had to answers.
"Nautilus, how was Dr. Pine's pregnancy? Were there any complications?" I asked.
He smoothed his hand over his whiskers. "None at all. To my knowledge, it was similar to a mortal pregnancy. I suspect the spirit DNA inside of her made it easier, but I have no proof."
My heart skipped in excitement. No complications was exactly what I wanted to hear. If a human mortal could bear a spirit's baby—twins, even—then my own pregnancy should be smooth, too.
Leveret chimed in. "My uncles Nero and Nishiki don't look like you, Nautilus. Their animal forms are a shark and a koi fish, but you're neither of those."
"That is correct," Nautilus said.
Turning to me, Leveret went on. "So what do you thinkourbaby's animal form will be?"
Something clicked in the back of my mind, like an ancient, dusty key had been turned in an abandoned keyhole. Old memories trickled back into my consciousness.
A fuzzy picture floated in my mind's eye, covered by obscuring haze. I could almost grasp it, yet it danced just out of my reach…
"Animus?" Leveret asked.
I must've spaced out again while chasing the memory. It was gone now, flitting away like a speck of sand in the wind.
"Sorry. I thought I remembered something," I said. "What did you say again?"
"I wondered what our baby would shift into," Leveret replied.