Mending the Rift by Chris T. Kat Read Free Book Online

cabin, set up the ultrasound machine, and gestured for Luca to hop onto the padded examination table. Marcus took a seat at Luca’s feet, his eyes already glued to the screen. Luca smiled at the eager look on Marcus’s face. He was in no better condition. At nine weeks, they should be able to see the baby in its distinct baby form and not as a gray blob on the screen anymore.
    “Dad, could you stop looking so worried? It drives me crazy! I already told you a hundred times, I’m not mad at you, okay?”
    Nicholas huffed as he punched some buttons on the machine. “I should’ve talked to you beforehand. I can’t believe I basically took possession of your body—the very same thing I’ve been fighting against for decades, and I’ve done it to my own child.”
    “Get over yourself and stop the pity party,” Marcus growled.
    Luca stared at Marcus as Nicholas’s touch faltered over the scanner. Luca cleared his throat several times. “Marcus….”
    “No, Luca, I’m done with your dad’s whining. He’s an adult, and he knew what he was doing was dangerous—for himself and for you. What if I hadn’t found you when I did? You’d have gone through the nidation process on your own, and who knows if you would have survived it. A few pangs of remorse won’t hurt him.” Marcus slipped a hand inside Luca’s right jeans leg and idly stroked his thumb along his shin.
    “I apologized, I don’t know how often, and I explained to both of you I intended to tell Luca right after breakfast, so I could keep him under observation. How was I to know he’d run away? Believe me, I was worried sick about him!”
    “Not worried enough to tell your husband about it,” Marcus shot back. “If he’d known, he’d have sent more people out to search for Luca, and we would’ve found him earlier.”
    “That’s what you’re so mad about?” Nicholas asked. “It didn’t even occur to me Greg would send out a bigger search party. Please, Marcus, I’m not making this up to appease you. It just never crossed my mind.”
    “Right,” Marcus scoffed.
    “Marcus, stop it. I believe Dad. You know how he is—brilliant with genetics and anything regarding human biology but anything else? You’d think he grew up on a different planet.” Luca jiggled his leg, hoping Marcus would look at him. Lately, Marcus had become ill-tempered and short with everyone. What the hell was going on? Did Marcus regret agreeing to claim their baby?
    An uncomfortable silence stretched out in the small room. Nicholas heeled a stool close and sat down. “I’m fairly good at raising kids too. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
    Luca laughed and Marcus snorted. He gave Luca’s leg a squeeze before he said in a nonconfrontational tone, “You did a good job with your kids. Everyone likes them.”
    “That’s good. Let’s have a look at your baby.”
    Marcus’s grip on Luca’s leg tightened while Nicholas pushed up Luca’s sweater. Before his dad could get any ideas, he popped the top button and shimmied down his jeans until his abdomen was completely exposed. Curling one arm under his head to cushion it, he rubbed a circle around his belly button. Although he was only at week nine, his stomach wasn’t as flat as it used to be.
    A very light swelling could be seen already, which wasn’t unusual since male pregnancies accelerated at an advanced rate. While females still carried their babies roughly forty weeks, males only carried them around thirty-four to thirty-six weeks at maximum. Due to the altered genetics, babies conceived by a man developed faster in the beginning. And since they had to give birth via C-section, the pregnancies were considerably shorter.
    “Marcus, I think you’re cutting off my circulation.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry, kitten. I guess I’m nervous.”
    Luca winced when Nicholas smeared a dollop of cool gel on his stomach. “Why?” he asked through gritted teeth.
    “Why? Luca, today’s the day that shows whether everything’s