Chapter 59: Sorin’s Smile And The Number That Shocks!
Sorin’s expression froze at Neve’s response.
’A male? Giving birth?’
Then he stepped back and laughed. The sound came out genuine and surprised, like he had just heard something ridiculous and couldn’t help the reaction.
"No, you’re messing with me," he said. "I’m a fool for almost believing you with that stupid face."
Neve just kept staring at him.
He was not messing with Sorin. He was telling the truth. But he also could not explain why he could get pregnant when no other male in this world could. He could not tell Sorin about the system. He could not tell anyone about the mechanics of his body that made this possible. So he wasn’t surprised if anyone said it’s impossible for him to get pregnant. Not just him, any male in the beastworld. They all believe that’s the task of the females.
He touched his own stomach without thinking about it.
The action was automatic. The question was there too, sitting in his mind. He had spent time yesterday with Cael. All that time in the bedroom. Would that result in pregnancy? Could it? He was only level three. His fertility rate was abnormally high. His pheromones had dropped from ninety-five to forty-five after bonding.
He shook his head to clear it.
"I can’t just get pregnant from one time," he said to himself quietly. "Besides, it’s my first time."
He waved it off and tapped Sorin’s shoulder. "Don’t worry. You don’t have to believe me. Just think of it as another funny claim,"
He started walking back toward the festival grounds.
Sorin, who usually ignored him or kept his distance, stayed close as they walked. He did not say anything for a moment. The snow crunched under their feet. The moon was still high enough to light the path clearly.
"How did you meet the dragon king?" Sorin asked finally.
"At the trade city," Neve said. "He helped me and ended up bonding with me."
"Everyone assumed the dragon king would never bond with anyone," Sorin said. "So it’s shocking. To everyone. Even to me."
"Hm," Neve said. He did not know what else to say. He was not from this world. The dragon king’s choices were not his to explain.
The silence lasted a few steps.
Then Sorin asked, "How many mates are you bonded with?"
"Two at the moment," Neve answered, looking at him.
Sorin’s expression shifted slightly. "At the moment? Are you hoping to get more?"
"Yes," Neve said. He had to. The mission required it. Ten mates. Two hundred litters. Five years. He could not tell Sorin that either, so he just said yes and waited for the reaction.
Sorin frowned.
"My mother had more than ten mates," he said quietly. "I’m from her fifth mate. She never took care of any of us because she was too focused on mating and getting crystals. That’s all she wanted. More mates, more resources, more status."
Neve did not know what to say to that.
He did not know if Sorin wanted sympathy or just wanted Neve to understand something about his family. He settled on offering something instead.
"Don’t worry," Neve said. "I’m not like that."
Sorin laughed.
Neve raised an eyebrow. "Did I say something funny?"
"Are you wooing me to be your mate?" Sorin asked. "Is this how you make them like you? By being different from other people?"
"Them?" Neve said, confused by the word choice.
Sorin looked past him.
Neve turned around and found Ryker and Kael standing on the path behind him. He had no idea how long they had been there or how he had not noticed them arriving. Ryker was holding something that looked like a cloth bundled around something heavy. Kael was standing with his hands at his sides, watching the scene with the particular focus he usually reserved for threats.
"You sure do have a lot of males around you," Sorin said from behind Neve.
Neve turned back to look at him. "I sure do."
He smiled. The kind of smile that came from somewhere genuine, from the specific realisation that all of this was actually happening. That he was building something real here despite not having planned for it and not fully understanding how it worked.
"But I’m not going to be like your mother, who wanted to mate and get rich," he said. "I’m going to love all my mates and build my tribe with them."
Sorin looked at him for a long moment.
Something shifted in his expression. The closed-off quality that had been there since he woke up loosened slightly. His usual cold exterior cracked just enough for something warmer to show through.
He reached out and took Neve’s other hand.
"I guess I’ll allow myself to fall in love with you," he said. He brought Neve’s hand to his mouth and kissed it.
It was not like Cael’s kisses. Not demanding or possessive. It was gentle and deliberate, the way someone kissed something they were deciding was worth having.
Behind them, Ryker was very still.
Neve did not look back at him. He was focused on the number that had appeared above Sorin’s head. It was glowing, pulsing slightly, and Neve found himself trying to guess what it would be before it settled.
It was originally two per cent. Maybe five or seven. Sorin was always slow with his feelings. He’s also careful and measured.
The glow faded.
The number solidified.
{Sorin — 40%}
Neve’s eyes went wide.
Forty per cent.
Nearly as high as Kael. Higher than most of the others he had met with so far. Forty per cent from one kiss on the hand and one sentence about building a tribe together.
Neve stared at the number.
Sorin was still holding his hand.
Behind them, Neve could feel Ryker and Kael watching. He could feel the weight of their attention like something physical, like they were processing what had just happened and recalculating whatever they had been planning to say.
Neve’s hand was still in Sorin’s.
The number stayed at forty.
Solid. Confirmed. Real.
"Ha," Neve said quietly to himself. "This is different from what I expected."