Before Griffin even finished speaking, Ulric snapped his fingers. “We don’t have to wait that long. We know someone who already has a sample and a lab.”
Griffin couldn’t talk him out of visiting Dr. Silver, but he did manage to convince Ulric to take a shower. He also shaved just in case he had to grovel later when begging Honey’s forgiveness. Did anyone make a card that said, Sorry I accused you of being a cheating whore?
Fuck.
Dr. Silver took a few minutes to answer the door to her lab. She frowned at him. “You shouldn’t be here. We’re done testing.”
“Testing is why I’m here. You have my jizz in a jar, so you’ll know. Am I fertile?” he blurted out.
Her brows arched. “Excuse me?”
It took him only a moment to spill, “My girlfriend got pregnant and I accused her of cheating only Griffin says it’s possible my vasectomy healed itself and so it turns out I might be the daddy and so I need my junk tested and since you already got a gob of my spunk I figured you’d know.”
Her jaw dropped by the time he finished. “That was a lot of insanity in one giant run-on sentence.”
“But you understand the problem. So, Doc, am I shooting blanks or swimmers?” He had yet to decide which he preferred. The one meant Honey’d betrayed him. The latter that he’d become a father who would now have to convince his mate to abort their child because otherwise the fetus would murder the mother. It was the one thing that had stuck to him when he’d been let in on the lycanthropy secret. He didn’t understand the medical why’s of it, just that something about the pregnancy proved fatal. Hence the snip. Hence why Honey couldn’t be pregnant.
She couldn’t die.
“I haven’t actually gotten to that sample yet.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Ulric had no patience.
“It’s frozen.”
“I can give you a fresh cup,” he offered.
She sighed. “You’re going to pester me until I agree, aren’t you?”
“Most likely.”
“Fine. Grab a container and meet me in that corner.” She pointed to an area with machines and test tubes strung in racks.
It took him longer than expected to spew. He’d think of Honey, get hard, then think of what he’d said and grow soft. By the time he came, he had convinced himself he was being an idiot. If he had live ones, wouldn’t he know? Then again, the women he slept with insisted on condoms. He and Honey had progressed past that point.
He eventually exited with the goods in hand. If he expected Dr. Silver to be discreet about her handling of it, he got a shock. She slapped the container on a counter, got a swab, and dabbed it into the sample before smearing it on a slide.
“Ew,” he couldn’t help but mutter.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Seriously? It came from your body.”
“It’s not supposed to be played with.”
“Hardly playing. Now do you want me to check for live swimmers or not?”
He slowly nodded. The moment of truth. The peek of revelation. The— What was taking her so long?
She jotted on a pad by her side.
“Well?” he exclaimed. “What’s the verdict?”
“That depends. How do you handle bad news? Because this lab has some very expensive stuff.” The implication couldn’t be clearer.
He swayed on his feet. “You’re kidding, right?” he said faintly.
“I have it on solid authority that I lack a sense of humor. And while sarcastic, I am not a liar. There are definitely some live sperm in your sample, meaning you very likely got your partner pregnant.”
“Oh fuck.”
“In good news, by acting like an ass, she most likely doesn’t want to keep the kid.”
“She can’t,” he muttered. “It will kill her.”
“Supposedly.”
He glanced at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s said, and yet I’ve yet to encounter anyone who’s ever actually met someone who got preggers by a Lycan and died.”
“Because no one wants to intentionally kill their mate and child.” It seemed obvious to him.
“Yet mistakes happen. I’m looking at one right now.”
He winced. “I didn’t know it was possible after getting the snip.”
“How could you not? It’s part of the possible side effects they tell you about before doing the procedure.”
“At the time, I was more concerned about how long before I could use it,” he sheepishly admitted.
“Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t seen this happen more often given the Lycan ability to heal. Your case makes a good point to introducing yearly testing to ensure we catch others.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” he groaned. “I accused her of cheating.”
“Wow, that’s rude.”
“What else was I supposed to assume?”
Dr. Silver fixed him with a stare. “You should have assumed the woman you loved would never cheat on you and not been an asshole about it.”
“But I didn’t know.”
“Is not an excuse. Better luck next time.”
Next time? Honey had been his one and only chance.
Was there a way to salvage the situation? He couldn’t find a card that said Sorry for being a jerk, so instead he brought flowers, chocolate, and an apology to her door.
A door she refused to open.
10
Honey didn’t open the door to her place. She knew who stood on the other side. The man who broke her heart. She put a hand on her stomach. “It’s okay, peanut. We won’t let the big bad Viking inside.”
“I heard that,” he yelled.
Impossible. She’d barely whispered.
“I’m sorry, Honeybee. Can we talk?”
“No.” A word spoken without crying. She’d shed enough of them at her parent’s place.
“You can’t ignore me forever. You’re pregnant with my child.”
That more than anything had her whipping open the door to offer him a glare. “Oh, so now it’s your child? Ha. What happened to the great vasectomy?”
He looked sheepish as he said, “Apparently, my swimmers built a new tunnel. I’m not sterile after all.”
“Well, good for you.” She went to slam the door, but he wedged his foot inside.
“Can’t we be adults and talk about this?”
“I was. You called me a whore and a liar.”
He winced.
She opened the door, only to slam it on his foot. “Get. Out.”
“But, Honey—” He was positively groveling. Contrite. Was she really the type to hold a grudge? He had, after all, had his sperm tested—because he felt bad or to further prove his conviction she must be a cheating slut?
“You may come in, but only to grab your box of things.”
“Oh.” His lips turned down.
She widened the door and stood back to point at the box she’d filled with all the random stuff he’d left lying around. More than she’d imagined in their short time. Each item a dagger to the heart.