Chapter 150 I'm Pregnant?

Chapter 150 I'm Pregnant?
ERINA -

Erina stared at the Walker in her palm with wide eyes as she pressed a hand to her still-flat belly. The little creature’s cap pulsed once, soft and certain, as though it had known all along and was simply waiting for her to catch up.
It wiggled several times until she knelt and placed him on the floor, so that it could go and look at Mystifurr.
"Don't eat my cat!" Erina called after him, before turning back to look at her belly as she placed her other hand over it.
“I’m pregnant?” She whispered again, the word feeling wrong and right at the same time.
Kai’s arms tightened around her so suddenly that she gasped. "Kai!" His name exploded from her mouth.
He pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair. She felt a tremor run through him as he inhaled.
As if answering her, he curled his tail around her leg, like he wanted to make sure she knew that she was his.
“Yes,” he breathed, his breath hot and overly loud in her now sensitive ears. “You are pregnant.”
She felt her eyes go wide as her mouth fell open.
He knew? Joy filled her. He knew! And yet he seemed excited.
He wasn't trying to tell her that she was only trying to use him, and he didn't want a child with her.
That's when the realization fell deep into her heart. Not once did Kai make her feel like she was using him. The last time she felt like she needed to prove herself to anyone was when she was back in Seattle and Richard was trying to control her through texts.
Every moment in Kai's presence had been proof that she was lovable. That she deserved respect.
That she was a person.
Tears burst from her eyes, and mirth filled her heart so full she felt it expand until a laugh burst from her mouth.
Erina turned in his arms and threw hers around him. Arms that could throw around him, now that she wasn't five foot two.
His eyes were shining when they met hers, and the blue in them was brighter than she'd ever seen, and the toothy grin that she loved so much was split wide across his face.
The Walker cooed softly as it nuzzled against her foot, reminding her it was still there.
Erina bent and lifted it higher and studied the small, fierce thing that had chosen her.
Its cap was still glowing from the vision it had shared, faint stripes along its stem catching the firelight in silver threads that matched the ones now ghosting across her own skin.
She could feel its contentment pulse against her palm, steady and trusting, and it made her heart ache because it reminded her so much of how Nibblenook felt and the bond they'd made, but it also reminded her that the Walker had picked her.
“I think… I need to name you properly,” she said, voice thick with emotion. “Right now. Before anything else happens.”
Kai nodded once, hand sliding down to rest over hers, cradling the Walker with her. “It should be yours to give,” he murmured. “But the bond needs to be sealed. A name alone isn’t enough. It needs your blood to make the tie unbreakable.”
She swallowed, her stomach going queazy again before she looked at him and repeated. “Blood?”
“Just a drop,” he said gently. “On the cap." He reached his other hand around and extended a claw from inside his index finger.
Erina was both horrified and mesmerized at the same time.
He hovered there until she lifted her own index finger up to him and he pressed the sharp tip into her flesh. A bead of red welled up.
"What will this do?" She asked, watching it ball up.
"It will link you deeper and let it share thoughts, feelings, and visions without effort. Sometimes even without touching. It’s how the first Walkers chose their keepers long ago.”
Erina nodded slowly. The idea felt right the moment he said it.
She looked down at the Walker. “I’ve been thinking about names all morning. Something strong. Something that fits how brave you were Kai was hurt and even now, with Mystifurr. How about..." She paused, trying to pick the right one first, "Valor?”
The cap dimmed politely, a small refusal that made her smile despite the sting in her thumb.
"Guardian?"
A puff of blue smoke rose, almost amused, curling around her wrist before drifting away like it was laughing at the idea.
“Fierceheart?” It brightened for a moment, glowing deeper blue, but then settled again, not quite satisfied, as though waiting for something else.
"Oh, goodness!" Erina said, She didn't expect this to be so hard," she murmured.
She stroked its cap with her uninjured finger and felt the tiny hum of approval. The way it leaned into her touch made its small body peek out from under the cap, and he looked so tiny that he reminded her of the scrappy kids throwing newspapers every Sunday morning.
“You’re so scrappy,” she said softly, the word slipping out before she could second-guess it. “Always ready to fight for what's yours, even when you’re so small. Scrappy.”
The Walker stilled completely. Then its cap flared bright blue, brighter than before, and a delighted trill vibrated through her palm, loud enough that Kai chuckled low in his chest.
The little creature nuzzled her thumb eagerly, as though saying 'yes, yes, that’s me, that’s exactly right', and she felt a rush of affection so strong it made fresh tears spill down her cheeks.
Erina laughed, the sound shaky and full of joy. “Scrappy,” she repeated, smiling so wide her cheeks ached. “That’s your name.”
Kai’s grin widened. “Scrappy,” he echoed, voice warm with approval. “It suits him.”
She lifted her thumb over the cap and let the drop of blood fall. When it did, it landed in the center, and the moment it touched, light bloomed.
It was a soft blue at first and then it threaded with silver, wrapping around her hand and up her arm like warm silk.
The glow spread to Scrappy’s stem, darkening the faint stripes there until they matched hers exactly.
A new warmth rolled through her chest, and she felt the bond snap into place deeper than before.
Scrappy cooed again, louder this time, and nestled against her palm as though exhausted from the joy of it all.
She could feel his contentment now, almost clearer than her own. She also felt pride in his new name, trust in her, and excitement for the little life growing inside her.
Erina pressed her forehead to Kai’s shoulder. “He’s ours,” she whispered. “And the baby… the baby will have him too.”
Kai kissed her hair, arms tightening. “Our family,” he said, voice rough with everything he felt. “Growing already.”
Outside the windows the Cheshires still laughed in the courtyard below, their voices drifting up like music.
But here, in this quiet room, Erina felt the future settle into something solid and bright.
She was no longer just carrying a child.
She was carrying a beginning.