Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

 

                After spending several days getting to know each other, Sophia decided to move ahead to the next part of the plan, which was to head south to where the lions were holed up. Before they left, Sophia was tempted to leave Gabriel behind. He had already been quite helpful, giving their group a lion to test themselves against, and since he had sustained some injuries, it was tempting to order him to stay behind.

                But she knew she was just being selfish. His injuries were minor and he had recovered from them quickly. And they still needed him. With his size, he was one of the few members of their group who could fight male lions one on one. The bears were the only other ones capable of doing so. Because of that, Sophia knew Gabriel would be critical to their success.

                “Sophia?” Gabriel asked quietly from behind her. “Are you okay?”

                “Fine,” she grumbled.

                “You’ve been pushing that tent stake into the ground for ten minutes,” he said.

                “No I haven’t,” she said, letting go of the stake that she was still holding. While she knew her mate was exaggerating, she knew she had zoned out there for a while. She stood up and looked at him. “Everything’s fine.”

                “You’ve been acting strange,” Gabriel said. He glanced around their campsite and made sure no one was watching them, then stepped towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Please tell me.”

                “I’m not acting strange,” Sophia argued. “I’m just busy trying to make this work.”

                “Sophia,” he said, pulling her against him. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Last night. And before, too.”

                “Was completely normal,” Sophia said. “We are mates, in case you forgot. It’d be strange if I didn’t want to fuck you.”

                “True, but what’s with this business of no protection? Sophia… are you trying to get pregnant?” He lowered his voice as he asked that. Even though there was no one else around, he wanted to make sure that no one overheard that.

                “Don’t be ridiculous,” Sophia said, pushing herself away from him. “If we ever have kids, you can deal with the whole pregnancy thing yourself.”

                “Uh… I don’t think that’s possible,” Gabriel said, feeling a little confused.

                “Exactly,” Sophia said, walking around the tent to push the last stake into the ground. “So we don’t need to worry about it.” She started to walk away, but Gabriel reached out and grabbed her arm.

                “Please,” he pleaded. “I know there’s something going on. You can tell me.”

                She looked into his warm eyes and knew that it was hurting him to have her shut him out. As much as she didn’t want to talk about her feelings, she knew that she could with Gabriel. She also knew that she had to tell him. But she wouldn’t do it out in the open, ,so she led him inside their tent, and they sat down facing each other.

                “Okay, so yes, maybe part of me is trying to get pregnant,” Sophia admitted.

                “Sophia! Why wouldn’t you tell me? I can’t. I’m not ready to be a father!”