Page 2

Mulder

“I’ll get you out in just a second, Madeline. I promise. Daddy has to figure out this tire first.” If I didn’t, getting out of the car seat was going to be the least of our problems. Fortunately, she was in the fussing, not crying stage of wanting out. There was still a slight hope she’d fall back asleep, so I could figure this hot mess out.

Last month, I had a nice apartment, a husband who adored us, and the promise of things going up from there. Now? Now, I was pulled over at the side of the road with a flat tire, a fussy baby in the car, suitcases in the trunk—and that was the entirety of my existence.

I will not cry. I will not cry. She deserves better. She deserves everything. I didn’t have Jason as my hype man anymore. It was up to me to keep myself focused and headed in the right direction.

My stupid donut was flat. I didn’t know donuts could get flat, but, apparently, that’s what happened when you spent the last of your money on a crappy car. I-I only needed to get to the next town. I had a hotel prepaid for the night, and thanks to my late husband’s aunt, I also had a job interview in the morning. All I needed to do was to get over this little hump, and everything would fall into place from there.

I was sure of it because it was either being sure or giving into the darkness, sobbing in a ball on the ground.

Even though it was a fool’s errand, I took out my phone again, checking for bars as if they would magically appear this time. They did not. I didn’t even have emergency conductivity here. It was either walk to where there was help or cross my fingers that someone stopped to help us—someone who wasn’t a serial killer because my cat shifter was pretty useless in the defense department.

“All right. I need to regroup. At least it’s cool out now, the desert sun not beating down.” Hold on to the little things.

There was a diner a couple of miles back. If I could get us there, maybe they could help us find somewhere to stay for the night or at least find us a tow truck.

I grabbed my baby wrap and took Madeline out of her car seat, settling her against my chest. She instantly calmed. The baby carrier was her favorite place to be. I buckled her in and grabbed the diaper bag with its stack of random gift cards I’d found in a drawer while packing up Jason’s things after he passed. I didn’t even know why he had them all. I assumed they were gifts from students over the years, but why not use them? I was so grateful he hadn’t because right now, all I had was them and the small bit of cash that I had left after paying for his funeral.

In theory, there was insurance money coming at some point, but because the accident was “under investigation,” I wouldn’t be seeing any of that for some time. The crash wasn’t intentional on Jason’s or anyone else’s part, but the company was looking for any way out of paying.

I believed that an animal walked across the road, and he overcorrected before going over the embankment. It was dusk, raining, and he was tired. Those three never mixed. But in any case, I didn’t have a choice as to when I got the money. I had to wait, be patient, and somehow stay afloat until it did.

The only relative we had on his side of the family was an aunt. Technically, she was a great-aunt and, from the interactions I had with her, she didn’t really remember him at all. Humans didn’t seem to bond about their extended as deeply as shifters. My guess was that the only reason she gave us the hotel room was because she had bonus points or some shit. But I was gonna take it. Anything to keep us going in the right direction.

“Okay, sweet girl, let’s go down to the diner. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee, borrow a phone, and figure things out from there.”

I chatted with her the entire way, and she fell asleep just as the diner came into view. Even though it was late, the diner still had a few customers, a sign that it wasn’t going to be closing too soon.

The place smelled delicious, was welcoming, and had a coziness to it. Instead of being super cautious with my cash and only getting a cup of coffee, I splurged and got the hamburger plate special. Who knew how much I had to walk tonight and if Madeline was going to have a good breakfast in the morning.

“She’s a cutie.” The server put a glass of water on the table. “You meeting someone? Or is it just the two of you?”

“Yeah, we’re not meeting anyone. My car got a flat a couple miles down. My donut’s dead. I had no bars to call for help. So, here we are. Is there any place walkable we could stay the night?” Was I babbling? Probably, but at this point I couldn’t really care.

He shook his head. “No. We had a room out back, but it’s currently being used. I get off in about four hours if you need a ride.”

“Maybe. Let’s see if I can find a tow first.” I thanked him, and he went on his way.

I took my phone out. It had one bar. Hardly what I’d call good reception, but it was enough for me to look up some local tow companies and call them one by one. I soon discovered that none of them were open. If only I had an automobile club membership. They had 24/7 people.

The door opened and in came a wolf. Not just any wolf—a freaking alpha. I could feel his power radiating off him, and normally I didn’t mind, but here I was, a domestic cat shifter with a baby, in no way able to either defend myself or leave. I felt trapped.

I didn’t think I was on his territory, but my nose wasn’t the best—not with all this crying. If it was his, I’d apologize and hope for the best. It was all I could do and, given this place had humans in it, I had some buffer.

He walked past me, and I lowered my head, tilting it to the side, wanting him to know I wasn’t causing any trouble. And, to my surprise, instead of continuing past me, he backed up and squatted.

“Hey. That’s not how we do things here.”

“Sorry, alpha,” I murmured.

“Aspen. Just Aspen. Are you okay?”

I shook my head, and the tears started coming. “No. Everything’s…decidedly not okay. Her father died. I have no income. I have a job interview tomorrow I can’t get to because my car broke down along the road, I might be on someone else’s territory, and…” I blinked back the tears that were now freely flowing.

“I’m sorry about your mate.”

“He wasn’t my mate. He was human. My husband.” I needed him to know I wasn’t pack. The last thing I needed was to make this mess even more disastrous.

“I see. And where is your interview?”

“Wolfe Enterprises?” It came out like a question and once the words were spoken, pieces fell into place. Wolfe—Wolves. Crap. It was this alpha’s company, or at least his pack’s. Why had I not considered that before?

The alpha reached into his front pocket, and when he pulled it out, placed a card in front of me. “I am the alpha of the company’s pack. How about you let me help you tonight, so you can start working tomorrow?”

“Oh, alpha, I didn’t mean to mislead you. I don’t have a job. I just have an interview.”

“No. You. Have. A. Job.” He wasn’t leaving room for discussion, but also, he wasn’t being harsh. There was a kindness to him, an almost-fatherly like quality. “I don’t know if it’ll be the one that you applied for. I don’t know your skills or your credentials. But you have a job. And because you’re relocating for work, we can set you up with a place to stay in the room.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.” He righted himself. “I’m gonna call my beta, and he’ll come and help you out. His name is Swale, and he might look intimidating, but trust me—he’s got a heart of gold. And my guess is he’s gonna start spoiling this little one pretty darn quickly.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I know so.” He leaned in closer. “The pack calls him Grandpa Swale, hardly intimidating, but we aren’t your typical wolf pack.”

He excused himself and went outside to make the call.

“See, Madeline…everything’s gonna be okay.”

And for the first time since Jason died, I believed it.