The Alien’s Pet (Earthly Mates #2)

Chapter 14

Fourteen

After one more week of bedrest, Korrev and Azis had finally allowed her to have visitors. Karin guessed Korrev was probably sick of her whining so he just gave in to her whim. Or maybe he felt a bit sorry for her because her cough had returned with a vengeance. Sometimes she would cough so hard, her body would hurt for hours afterwards.

Azis had warned her it might take months for her body to recover from the bouts of poison, but she was doing splendid so far. When she had been told she was lucky to be alive, she had felt quite dumb that she ate the berries in the first place.

Her journey to recovery would be long, but she was hopeful that someday her body would stop hurting as much. Korrev had even taken her on daily walks, even though he fussed over her constantly as if she were as weak as a newborn.

Whatever the reason was for Korrev's rare generosity, she decided to milk it as much as she could. The very first thing she wanted to do was, of course, have Alice visit her.

Karin was in bed—in Korrev's large, fancy canopy bed if she had to be specific. Not in her pet bed. She had finally left the infirmary after pleading with Korrev. She was going to milk the poor-little-me act as much as she could. Korrev was almost spoiling her with attention and giving in to her every whim, something which he hadn't done before. She was going to take advantage of it for as long as possible. She was still weak, and there was no way Korrev would punish her in her condition.

The blonde had asked him for visitors. He had hesitated but agreed to let Alice visit for only one hour. It wasn't much, but she would take whatever she could get.

Alice had changed so much, she hardly recognized her. She was heavily pregnant and round. Practically bursting. But she looked downright adorable with her large belly, even though Alice complained her back and chest ached a lot.

Alice was due soon, which had made Kyvan annoyingly protective. She was surprised he had even allowed her to come, but when the king gave an order, not even Kyvan could say no. Korrev was breaking many rules for her, which made her secretly pleased.

"How are you feeling?" Alice asked warmly as she placed a hand on her large belly.

Karin felt a twinge of jealousy, even though it was stupid to feel jealous of her only friend. She had never wanted children. She had convinced herself she was not going to be a very good mother because her own mother had been shitty. She had made her peace that she was never going to experience pregnancy or carry her newborn in her arms. But seeing Alice looking so heavily pregnant, triggered something in her. Something which she couldn't explain.

Karin wished she could be the one experiencing pregnancy. She wished she would soon be the one giving birth to Korrev's child. She wanted to hold her own baby in her arms. Even though she was a bit disappointed she would only be able to bear male children.

Azis had warned her being bred could not happen for several months, until her body recovered, which, to be quite honest, just caused her to become more frustrated.

When she had firstcome to Krotev, Azis had told her she had been given a fertility treatment, but she had been here for more than a year and she had not become pregnant. Alice had been here less time and she would soon have a bouncing baby boy.

She chewed on her cheek nervously. What if she couldn't get pregnant? What if she was infertile? What if she could never give Korrev a baby? Would he dump her? Would he get another mate who could give him children?

The idea of Korrev impregnating someone else filled her with rage. She didn't want Korrev to have another mate. She certainly didn't want him to get someone else pregnant.

Alice cleared her throat, reminding her that she had asked her a question.

"How do I look?" she asked sarcastically.

Alice gave her a little smile, obviously too polite to say anything.

Karin knew she looked horrible. She was struggling to gain weight, she was pale, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her cough made it seem like she had gotten infected by the plague.

"You look perfect. Just like you."

Karin rolled her eyes as she took a sip of water. "You're just like Korrev. A terrible liar. Both of you are too blunt to be dishonest. I know I look horrible."

She had been self-conscious about her appearance when she was a young woman, but Karin would do anything to look like she was once. She looked absolutely ghoulish. What if Korrev lost interest? The idea seemed silly to her, especially since he had done so much to make sure she was rescued.

"It will be over soon," Alice said brightly, like the good-natured person she was. "And then we can resume our playdates. Except now, with a baby in tow."

Karin smiled. That would be nice. Babies were cute, and both Kyvan and Alice were attractive. She was sure their son would be a cutie pie.

A wave of dizziness hit her as she lay back down. "I don't think I'll ever get better. It's been two months since I was rescued and I still feel so tired. All I want to do is sleep and I can barely digest a meal."

"Do the healers know what it is?"

"They said the poison is out of my system, my body is just recuperating, but since I'm human, it takes longer. They're giving me all these tonics and pills, but to be honest, I don't think they're doing much."

Korrev had been forcing her to go visit Azis twice a day, until both Karin and Azis were growing tired of each other.

"I miss the sun," Karin blurted out, breaking the silence. "And the beach. And hot dogs. I regret not going to the beach more when I was in New York. I think I just assumed it would always be there."

Krotev wasn't chilly, but it definitely didn't get as hot here as it did on Earth. The palace was warm since she didn't usually wear clothes, but she hadn't explored Krotev as much as she would like. Not to mention, she was still shy when it came to her nudity.

Alice closed her eyes. "And ice cream and a bonfire with chocolate and s'mores."

"Chocolate. I would give my left arm if I could have a chocolate bar." Karin felt like she could eat three boxes of chocolates. It was the only thing she was truly craving.

"I'm sure Korrev would be more than happy to send for one if it meant you would eat."

Silence.

Korrev might be spoiling her now, but she wasn't foolish enough to expect he would do it forever. For goodness' sake, Karin didn't even know if she was going to be punished for the stunt she'd pulled. She clenched her buttocks, just thinking about it.

Karin couldn't ask him for chocolate when she didn't even know where she stood with him. She knew he desired her and he didn't want her to depart back to Earth. But what else? Alien men were just as complicated as human men. Why did they have to make everything so complicated?

"Leave him out of this," she murmured as she looked at Alice's pregnant belly again. She wanted to touch it, to feel the baby kick, but she felt too shy to ask her. She had never touched a woman's pregnant belly before. Babies had been the furthest thing from her mind, but now that they might be in her near future, it was all she could think about. "Are you sure you're not pregnant with twins? No offense, but you look like an overindulged cat."

Alice gave her a reproachful look. "Thanks for the compliment. That doesn't terrify me at all."

Karin winced. "Sorry. I've never given birth. I'm sure everything will be fine."

She wasn't even sure how giving birth here worked. Did they have epidurals? She couldn't imagine pushing out such a big baby with no pain medication.

"Have you thought about names?"

"Not really, Kyvan wants to name him after his father, but it's quite a mouthful. I don't think I want to give such a difficult name to a baby. Since I knew it was going to be a boy, I thought it was going to be easier, but no such luck. Do you think you would ever want to have a baby?"

Karin shrugged. "Mates have babies. Pets don't."

"But you don't know if you're a pet anymore."

"Bad pets who run away don't get rewarded. That's what the king said," Karin said flatly. She tried to hide the hurt in her voice, but she was unsuccessful. Yes, he wanted her to stay, but did he want Karin to be the mother of his children? What if he wanted someone prettier or younger? "He will never raise my status to anything but a pet. Why do you think I tried running away? Do you really think he would let a little troublemaker like me give birth to his princes?"

Alice raised an eyebrow. "The question is do you want to give birth to his princes?"

Before she could respond that yes, she wanted to give birth to his babies, Korrev stormed in. He had an impatient look on his face and he was glaring at Alice. He had never liked her and she never understood why. Perhaps, because like Kyvan, she was the only one who didn't seem afraid of him.

"Alice, leave. Now."

He didn't bother to wait until she did to kneel down next to her bed. Korrev squeezed her hand, showing a rare moment of affection in public. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, my king. Thank you." She looked in Alice's direction, trying to soften his feeling towards her. "Visiting with Alice did me good. You should come back soon and bring your baby with you. I would love to meet him."

Alice glared at Korrev. "You'd better treat her with respect or I will?—"

"Of course, I have nothing but respect for my queen." There was a slight smirk on Korrev's lips, indicating he enjoyed the mystified looks on both their faces. Apparently, it had been his goal all along.

Meanwhile, Karin couldn't believe what she was hearing. Queen? Did he want her to be his queen? This was the first time he had addressed her as something else other than Pet.

She stared at him with a mixture of disbelief on her face. "Your queen?"

He pecked her lips. It was like he could have read her mind and had taken care of all of her insecurities. "Yes, my queen. Once you are well, we will work on siring princes. How does that sound?"

Karin looked completely lost, her mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out. He was going to make her his queen. Never in the history of Krotev, had there been a queen. The king's partner was simply referred to as "mate".

Karin Johansson would be the first queen of Krotev. It was unbelievable.

Korrev's smirk was growing wider by the second while her entire face turned red. She suddenly felt very foolish.

"Good." He turned back to Alice, looking annoyed she was still there. Alice was still in shock at what he had said and hadn't moved. "I believe I dismissed you."

"Yes, of course."

Once they were alone, Karin hoped the words would come to her about what she wanted to say. But she felt just as awkward as ever. What if Korrev had just said he would make her queen to get under Alice's skin?

He began rubbing the back of her hand in circular motions like he always did. She hadn't realized until then, but he often did this when he wanted to soothe her.

"Were you serious about what you said?"

"About what part?"

She threw him a dark look.

"Do you really think so little of me, Pet?"

"Perhaps you were joking. Maybe you didn't mean it."

"When have I ever joked?"

That part was true at least. He never joked.

Korrev shook his head, looking almost disappointed. "I thought you would be pleased. I thought women liked the idea of being queen and wearing a pretty crown on their head."

"I am pleased, but this is so unexpected." Her voice grew unhappy. "What if your men are not happy I've gone from pet to queen?"

"My men will accept whatever I order them to. The question remains, Karin, do you accept the position as queen?"

Karin squeezed his hand. "I do."