There were many things the world knew about Slade.

Mercenary.

Assassin.

Enhanced soldier.

Problematic husband, depending on who you asked.

What nobody knew—

because nobody had ever needed to know—

was whether vampires could get pregnant.

As it turned out…

they apparently could.

The discovery happened on a Tuesday.

Which somehow made it worse.

Slade came home expecting a quiet evening.

Instead, he found his wife sitting on the couch with several books spread around her and an expression that suggested reality itself had become offensive.

There was also a positive pregnancy test on the table.

Slade stared at it.

Then at her.

Then back at it.

Several long moments passed.

“…No.”

Another look.

“…Absolutely not.”

Because there were certain assumptions one made when marrying a vampire.

Immortality.

Questionable sleeping habits.

A tendency to avoid sunny vacations.

Pregnancy had never once made the list.

Yet here they were.

The books weren’t helping.

One claimed it was impossible.

Another called it incredibly rare.

A third insisted it was the result of a once-in-a-century alignment of mysterious supernatural factors.

Slade disliked all three answers.

He picked up another book.

Read a paragraph.

Then put it back down.

“No. I reject this.”

Silence.

He looked at his wife again.

She looked equally confused.

Which, frankly, was not reassuring.

Hours later, the dining room table looked like the headquarters of a paranormal research team.

Books.

Notes.

Ancient texts.

Three different doctors had been called.

One occult expert had hung up after laughing.

Another had simply said, “Congratulations?” in a very uncertain tone.

By midnight, there were still no real answers.

Only one undeniable fact.

His vampire wife was pregnant.

Somehow.

Somewhere in the world, the laws of nature had apparently given up.

Slade leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face.

Then looked toward the living room.

Toward his wife.

Toward the impossible situation they’d somehow found themselves in.

A long silence followed.

Then he sighed.

Because whether it made sense or not—

whether it was science, magic, fate, or complete nonsense—

it was happening.

And if there was going to be a tiny half-vampire running around one day…

then apparently he was going to be somebody’s father all over again.

He still had questions.

A lot of questions.

But those could wait until morning.